Former EEOC commissioner drops lawsuit challenging dismissal after Supreme Court ruling

A former Democratic appointee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) who was fired by President Trump last year has dropped a lawsuit challenging her removal in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that strengthened the president’s firing power.

Jocelyn Samuels was one of two Democratic commissioners fired from the agency in the early days of Trump’s second term as part of an initial crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Samuels said in a statement on Monday that she has moved to voluntarily dismiss her lawsuit after the Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision that the president can fire the heads of most independent agencies at will. The decision upended a 91-year-old precedent that had historically insulated such agencies from political interference.

“I strongly disagree with the Supreme Court’s legal analysis in Trump v. Slaughter, which overturned an almost century-old precedent and undermined Congress’s authority to limit the President’s removal power........

© The Hill