Trump Nominates Appointments to NLRB and EEOC but Policy Changes Likely to Be Delayed

President Trump has nominated Boeing Chief Labor Counsel Scott Mayer, and long-time NLRB official James Murphy, for positions on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board).  However, the Board’s current Chairman, Marvin Kaplan, has a term expiring in August, so there will be another seat on the five-member NLRB to fill at that time.  Although the credentials of the two Trump nominees have been widely recognized by both the management and labor side, it is unlikely that the nominations will be approved by the Senate prior to the expiration of the term of Republican-appointed Chair Kaplan.  Even when the nominees are approved, unless the Kaplan seat is filled, the Board would still be left with a 2-1 Republican majority, and the NLRB has a long tradition of not overturning precedent without three members voting in favor.  The Board respects the norm on changing precedents, it will likely focus on routine cases until a third appointed member arrives.  

Trump previously replaced Democratic NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo with a temporary appointee.  The President nominated a new General Counsel, Crystal Carey, in March, but Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who is generally a conservative but becoming pro-union as relating to labor relations, criticized her position wanting to overturn the Biden Board’s prohibition of captive audience meetings, in which an employer meets with groups of employees to state its position on unionization.  Therefore, her nomination has not been set for a vote in the Senate, indicating that her candidacy may be in doubt.

Meanwhile, at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), President Trump has nominated Brittany Bull Panuccio, an assistant U.S. attorney in Florida, to fill one of the three open seats on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Similar to the situation at the NLRB, the approval of this nomination would give the agency a three-member quorum, allowing it to fully carry out the new Trump-era agenda.

This article is part of our September 2025 Newsletter. 

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