Jocelyn Samuels speaks during a press conference in 2013 when she was at the Justice Department. Samuels was removed as an EEOC commissioner on Monday.

Jocelyn Samuels speaks during a press conference in 2013 when she was at the Justice Department. Samuels was removed as an EEOC commissioner on Monday. Kris Connor / Getty Images

2 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Democrats fired

Their removals by President Donald Trump leave the EEOC without a quorum.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission members Charlotte A. Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, both Democrats, said they were fired by President Donald Trump late Monday. 

“Removing me, along with Commissioner Samuels, well before the expiration of our terms is unprecedented and will undermine the efforts of this independent agency to do the important work of protecting employees from discrimination, supporting employers’ compliance efforts and expanding public awareness and understanding of federal employment laws,” Burrows said in a statement.   

Burrows, a former EEOC chair, was serving a third term as commissioner that was set to end in 2028. Samuels was in her second term, which was supposed to last through 2026. 

Under federal law, no more than three individuals from the same political party can serve at the same time on the five-member commission. Trump’s actions leave the EEOC without a quorum, as there are only two commissioners remaining. Prior to Monday’s removals, the agency already had a vacancy. 

“Removing me from my position before the expiration of my Congressionally directed term is unprecedented, violates the law and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the EEOC as an independent agency — one that is not controlled by a single Cabinet secretary but operates as a multi-member body whose varying views are baked into the Commission’s design,” Samuels said in a statement. “The president’s action undermines the stability and continuity of EEOC’s critical work to advance equal opportunity and fair treatment.”

Both Burrows and Samuels said they were considering their legal options. 

On his first day in office, Trump named EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas, a Republican. as acting chair.

Also on Monday, Trump removed National Labor Relations Board Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox, whose term expires in 2028, leaving the entity without a quorum to hear and decide cases.