Last week, President Donald Trump appointed two new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) members. These nominees are:
- Scott Mayer, who currently serves as the Chief Labor Counsel for Boeing.
- James Murphy, a career NLRB lawyer, who has spent many years as counsel to a variety of Republican NLRB members.
Each nominee must still be confirmed by the United States Senate.
In a Republican administration like President Trump’s, the five-person National Labor Relations Board is generally made up of three Republican leaning Board Members and two Democratic leaning Board Members. These latest nominations fill the two remaining Republican seats. However, the term of the existing Republican Board Member and NLRB Chairperson Marvin Kaplan, expires in five weeks on August 27, 2025. Thus, even if these nominees are confirmed, there will still be at least two empty seats after August 27 (Kaplan’s and Wilcox’s). However, a three-member Board is sufficient to have a quorum to conduct business and the Administration is likely looking for replacements for Kaplan and Wilcox already.
The key will be whether these nominations can be confirmed. It is unclear if the Senate will confirm these latest nominations. A new populist pro-union wing of the Republican party, led by Senator Josh Hawley, appears to be poised to join Democratic Senators to fight the nomination of any Board members that are viewed as too anti-union.
