In Grim Memo to Staff, NLRB Counsel Says 'I Cannot Promise You Everything Is Going to Be OK'

The top attorney at the National Labor Relations Board wrote in a memo to staff on Friday that she can't "promise everything is going to be OK" as the Trump administration attempts to ravage agencies across the government, running roughshod over career federal employees and the law in the process.

"I know that the past few days and nights have been extremely scary and distressing for some of us," Acting NLRB General Counsel Jessica Rutter wrote in a message obtained and posted to social media by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein.

"I know that at this moment, no matter what I say there is uncertainty," Rutter continued. "I cannot promise you that everything is going to be OK. I can promise you that I will be standing with the employees of his agency to effectuate our mission."

The memo from Rutter, who took over the post earlier this week after Trump fired former NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, marks the latest expression of deep unease and alarm from a federal workforce facing unprecedented attacks by President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, and the lackeys they have installed in key positions of authority throughout the government.

Slate's Mark Joseph Stern reported earlier this week that the NLRB's staff is "profoundly demoralized," particularly following Trump's termination of NLRB Chair Gwynne Wilcox—a move that was widely seen as illegal. Wilcox has vowed to pursue "all legal avenues to challenge" her removal.

"We expected Abruzzo's removal," a career attorney at the NLRB told Slate, "but Wilcox's unconstitutional ouster is a punch to the gut, not only because she was a fierce defender of the [National Labor Relations Act's] principles, but because a quorumless board leaves many of us floundering in our jobs."

Stern stressed that in addition to severely hindering the NLRB in the near-term, Trump's removal of Wilcox sets the stage for challenges to Supreme Court precedent that could "unleash a spate of firings across other independent agencies."

"Trump could bring every regulatory body under his thumb, terminating anyone who questioned his priorities," Stern warned. "And he would not stop there. The president has already claimed authority to fire high-ranking members of the civil service, who have merit protections, and has begun illegally removing them. He is seeking to reclassify at least 50,000 more career employees so he can easily oust them. And he is, of course, already purging other agencies with weaker protections than the NLRB—including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission."