WASHINGTON, DC — Today, America First Legal (AFL) filed an application for a preliminary injunction against President Biden’s unprecedented threat to remove former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and former Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought from their duly-appointed positions on the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy. Congress provided three-year terms for Board members and did not authorize the President to cut short that term. Nor does President Biden hold the constitutional authority to remove Mr. Spicer and Mr. Vought.
Until President Biden, no President has attempted to remove a Board member in violation of the statutory term of office. But, contrary to long-standing norms, this Administration has embarked on a government-wide program to purge the federal government, including the NSA and the Department of Defense, of employees and appointees with “unapproved” views. AFL will never stop fighting the Biden Administration’s abuses of power and unlawful overreach of its legal authority.
Statement From America First Legal Vice-President and General Counsel Gene Hamilton:
“President Biden’s radical attempt to openly flout an Act of Congress by trying to remove—based entirely on inappropriate political reasons—duly-appointed members of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy must not stand. As a legal matter, the Board exercises no executive power whatsoever. And as a practical matter, terminating these two highly qualified individuals does the Naval Academy a tremendous disservice,” Gene Hamilton said.
Read the Memorandum in Support of Application for Preliminary Injunction here.
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