18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies · Minor · Day one

Appoint new EEOC and NLRB general counsels on Day One

Partially done

Printed page 615 18. Department of Labor and Related Agencies

“Appoint new EEOC and NLRB general counsels on Day One. The Biden Administration broke significant precedent by firing the EEOC and NLRB general counsels despite their term appointments. The next Administration should do the same and expand on the Biden Administration’s new precedent by refusing to acknowledge terms in other offices, where applicable, and installing acting or full new officers immediately.”

What has happened

Dec 18, 2025 Partially done
The Senate confirmed Crystal Carey as General Counsel of the NLRB, 53-43, in the seat "vice Jennifer Ann Abruzzo"; she was sworn in and welcomed by the agency on 2026-01-07 and has since issued memoranda GC 26-01 through GC 26-04. The EEOC's General Counsel post remains vacant: the nomination of Carter Crow was returned to the President under Senate Rule XXXI on 2026-01-03 and withdrawn on 2026-04-27. One of the two named offices is filled.
- U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 119th Congress, 1st Session, No. 655 — confirmation of Crystal Carey as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (53-43)
  Primary Congress Dec 18, 2025
- NLRB: The NLRB Welcomes Crystal Carey as General Counsel
  Primary Executive branch Jan 7, 2026
Feb 3, 2025 Attempted
The National Labor Relations Board's General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, was removed and the President appointed William B. Cowen Acting General Counsel "effective immediately" on 2025-02-03 — two weeks after the inauguration, not on Day One. The EEOC's General Counsel, Karla Gilbride, was removed in the same period.
- NLRB: President Trump Appoints William B. Cowen Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board
  Primary Executive branch Feb 3, 2025

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

appoint ask: the roster (src/data/people.json) carries no NLRB or EEOC office, so it answered nothing and the evidence was built from the Senate roll call and the agency’s own announcements.
partial, on two grounds: the removals and acting appointments were made in the first fortnight rather than on Day One, and only one of the two named general counsel offices now has a confirmed occupant.
The EEOC nomination record is 119-PN653-00 (returned 2026-01-03) and 119-PN730-16 (withdrawn 2026-04-27) in nominations.ndjson; the congress.gov nomination pages 403 to automated fetches and are leads.

Action: appoint
Object: EEOC and NLRB general counsels
ID: 1702