The Trump administration is aiming to quash fired federal workers’ appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board by arguing that the independent, quasi-judicial agency must follow Justice Department guidance in how workers’ complaints are decided.

The new legal maneuver could test the independence of the board, which reviews federal employees’ appeals of personnel actions taken by the government. The administration’s argument comes after an administrative judge agreed with two fired immigration judges, who said they were not given due process in their dismissals. The administration responded that for-cause removal protections for civil service employees do not outweigh the constitutional powers of the president.

The legal arguments mark the latest effort by President Donald Trump to exer

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