Resetting the EEOC: President Trump Removes Two EEOC Commissioners, Discharges General Counsel

Quick Hits

• President Trump removed two of the three Democratic commissioners on the EEOC.
• The removals leave the EEOC with two remaining commissioners and likely will lead to a Republican majority that will push the president’s agenda, including recent executive orders.
• The unprecedented action is likely to lead to legal challenges regarding the grounds for removing the EEOC commissioners.

According to media reports, on January 28, 2025, Commissioners Burrows and Samuels said that the White House had informed them on the evening of January 27 that they were being removed from their positions. Their removals now shift the political majority on the five-member board, as Democrats would have retained a majority through Commissioner Samuels’s term, which was to have ended in 2026.

Commissioner Burrows, who previously served as commission chair from January 2021 through the end of the Biden administration on January 19, 2025, had served as a commissioner since 2015, most recently being confirmed in November 2023 to a third term that was set to expire on July 1, 2028.

Commissioner Samuels was first appointed by President Trump in 2020 during his first term and later nominated by then–President Joe Biden for a second five-year term that was not set to end until July 1, 2026.

Two EEOC commissioners remain: Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas, whom President Trump designated as acting chair shortly after taking office, and Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, a President Biden–appointee whose term expires in July 2027.

Additionally, President Trump discharged EEOC general counsel Gilbride, who was nominated by former President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 2023 to a four-year term. The general counsel’s discharge was expected and comes after President Biden in March 2021 discharged former EEOC general counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson, who had been tapped by President Trump during his first term.

The removal of an EEOC commissioner without identified cause is historically unprecedented and will likely be challenged in court. Commissioners for the independent, bipartisan agency are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for staggered five-year terms. According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “not more than three [commissioners] shall be members of the same political party.”

While Title VII does not explicitly outline the grounds or process for removing EEOC commissioners, it has generally been understood that commissioner removal would require cause, such as neglect of duty or malfeasance. Historically, after changeovers in presidential administrations, commissioners have remained in position until their terms have ended.

In her statement posted on social media, Commissioner Samuels said that the “White House critiqued [her] views on [diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)] and sex discrimination.”

Burrows’s and Samuels’s removals coincide with President Trump’s removal of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and the discharge of NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.

Next Steps

Without the EEOC removals, the Democrats would have retained a majority on the Commission through the end of Commissioner Samuels’s term in 2026. However, with the removals, Acting Chair Lucas will potentially gain the votes needed to revoke more of the EEOC’s guidance regarding gender identity. The EEOC reportedly has already pulled down from its website some information and employers on LGBTQ+ worker protections.

In recent years, the EEOC has interpreted the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2020 holding in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that Title VII’s protection against discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Specifically, in April 2024, the EEOC issued new workplace harassment guidance for employers, titled, “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace.” The guidance, which was approved by the EEOC by a 3–2 vote, recognized that the Bostock holding applied to unlawful harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

More broadly, the removals come as part of President Trump’s shake-up of the federal government, including the leadership of independent federal agencies, and align with efforts to roll back many of former President Biden’s initiatives. The removals of the EEOC commissioners without identified cause, along with the removal of NLRB member Wilcox, will likely result in lengthy court battles that could reach the Supreme Court and have significant implications for the powers of the president and independent federal agencies.

Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Employment Law, and Governmental Affairs blogs.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on January 29, 2025, with details on the discharge of the EEOC general counsel.

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