Trump’s NLRB Purge Is About Much More Than Crushing Organized Labor

Since returning to the presidency, Donald Trump has broken the law many, many times. Some of his illegal actions seem designed to sow chaos. Others appear aimed at establishing supremacy over the federal government. And still more seem calculated to tee up court battles that will remove all remaining limitations on his power. His unlawful purge of the National Labor Relations Board on Monday serves all three goals at once.

With these firings, Trump has paralyzed the board, asserted control over its agenda, and engineered a legal showdown over the scope of his constitutional authority. The move is both a power grab in itself and a trial balloon—a preview of worse abuses to come if he gets away with it. And at this Supreme Court, he probably will.