A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump from firing the Democratic chair of the US Merit System Protection Board (MSPB).

Trump had informed Cathy Harris that her position on the MSPB was terminated “effective, immediately” last month. However, Trump failed to provide a reason for Harris’ termination. Since federal law dictates that members of the MSPB can only be removed from their positions for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” Harris filed a lawsuit against Trump and several other officials. Through that lawsuit a temporary restraining order was granted, preventing the defendants from treating Harris as removed from office.

The parties appeared for a hearing on Monday and Judge Rudolph Contreras granted Harris’ motion for summary judgement. Contreras wrote:

Cathy A. Harris remains a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, having been confirmed by the Senate on May 25, 2022, and sworn in on June 1, 2022, and that she may be removed by the President prior to the expiration of her term in office only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 1202. … Plaintiff Cathy A. Harris shall continue to serve as a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board until her term expires pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 1202, unless she is earlier removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office under that statute.

The defendants were then enjoined from removing Harris from her office without cause or treating her as having been removed without cause, denying or obstructing Harris’s access to any of the benefits or resources of her office, or placing a replacement in Harris’s position.

The MSPB was created by the Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978, which was codified by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA). The MSPB hears appeals from federal government employees when they are fired or disciplined and has proven to be an impediment to the recent mass firings of federal employees. The board also reviews the significant actions of Office of Personnel Management to determine if those actions have affected merit.