The Trump administration will no longer defend protections for in-house judges who oversee hearings at agencies like EPA, the Interior Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
In a Thursday letter to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said the Justice Department has the authority to fire agencies’ administrative law judges (ALJs) without cause, despite federal statutes declaring otherwise.
“Unelected and constitutionally unaccountable ALJs have exercised immense power for far too long,” said DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle in a Thursday statement that coincided with Harris’ letter. “In accordance with Supreme Court precedent, the Department is restoring constitutional accountability so that Executive Branch officials answer to the President and to the people.”
DOJ’s effort to oust ALJs is part of a broader effort to remove executive branch officials and shrink the federal government. In an early test of the president’s firing power — a legal battle over the removal of a federal ethics watchdog — the Supreme Court on Friday declined to issue an emergency ruling requested by the Trump administration.
