The removal of the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel had been expected. But the firing of a Democratic member stops it from protecting workers’ rights, for now.

President Donald Trump fired Jennifer Abruzzo, the National Labor Relations Board's general counsel, on Jan. 28. Abruzzo was a champion of the student-athlete labor movement, which gained significant traction under the Biden administration.

Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox called her removal “unprecedented and illegal” and vowed to challenge the decision.