Democrats in Congress warn cuts at top US labor watchdog will be ‘catastrophic'
Democrats have warned that cuts to the US's top labor watchdog threaten to render the organization 'basically ineffectual' and will be 'catastrophic' for workers' rights.
The so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) has targeted the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for cuts and ended its leases in several states.
Representatives Bobby Scott, Mark DeSaulnier and Greg Casar have written to NLRB's chair, Marvin Kaplan, and the acting general counsel, William Cowen, requesting answers on the cuts.
'If the NLRB reduces its workforce and closes a number of regional offices, it will render the NLRB's enforcement mechanism basically ineffectual, thereby chilling workers from exercising their rights to engage in union organizing and protected concerted activities,' they wrote.
The letter noted the NLRB has already been suffering from drastic understaffing and budget constraints, while caseloads have increased. NLRB field staffing has declined by one-third in the last decade, while case intake per employee at the agency grew by 46%.
'The harm to America's workers by potential directives to reduce this independent agency's workforce cannot be overstated,' the letter added. 'Any NLRB reduction in force (RIF) or office closures would be catastrophic for workers' rights.'
The representatives also requested all information related to Doge's role at the NLRB, including all communications Doge had with employees at the NLRB or regarding the NLRB with other agencies.
Doge is led by billionaire Trump donor Elon Musk. Musk's SpaceX has challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB. A whistleblower at the NLRB told NPR earlier this month that Doge accessed sensitive data at the agency and took steps to cover their tracks in doing so.
The National Labor Relations Board Union, representing workers at the agency, reported last week that Doge cancelled the NLRB regional office's lease a year early in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ending it in August 2025.
In March 2025, Doge terminated the lease for the NLRB regional office in Memphis, Tennessee. In February 2025, Doge terminated the leases for NLRB offices in Buffalo, New York; Puerto Rico; Los Angeles, California; Overland Park, Kansas; and Birmingham, Alabama.
'The NLRB is an agency that has been starved of funding and resources for over a decade. We have seen massive staffing cuts simply from attrition. There is no need for any austerity measures with our operations; Congress has already done that to us.' the NLRB Union stated on social media.
The NLRB declined to comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
'We're happy to have this fight': Trump administration leans into California protests
President Donald Trump's immigration agenda has met a groundswell of opposition in Los Angeles, the country's second-largest city. At least 56 people have been arrested so far in massive protests against the administration's immigration raids in the city Friday. The demonstrations have spilled over onto one of the region's largest freeways, and federal authorities are facing criticism after they arrested, and apparently injured, a prominent labor leader. In response, the White House has threatened to arrest California's governor and mobilized Marines to support National Guard troops in defending federal property — even though state officials say they don't want the assistance and are now suing the administration. For the White House, this scene — Trump battling a blue state over his signature issue — is a win. It's a nationally watched saga of the sort that has long defined his career: a made-for-TV moment. 'We're happy to have this fight,' a White House official said, emphasizing that politically, the administration sees it as a winning issue. Democrats and immigration activists have broadly blasted the Los Angeles operation as illegal and inhumane and insisted that it's all about politics — and not about sound public policy. 'This Administration's actions are not about public safety — they're about stoking fear,' former Vice President Kamala Harris, a Los Angeles resident who ran against Trump last year, wrote in a statement. But Trump allies argue that it's simply Trump carrying out the hard-line immigration agenda that was the centerpiece of his campaign. NBC News spoke with four White House officials, in addition to other Trump supporters, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. 'This is what America voted for, period,' a Trump adviser said. 'This is the America First focus that got the president elected and is driven by nothing else than what he promised American voters.' 'Look at the violence, the attacks on law enforcement,' the adviser added. 'If Democrats want to support that, let them. This is why we win elections and they do not.' Trump advisers also pointed to the fact that the president's immigration policies continue to get high marks in most public polling. A CBS/YouGov poll conducted just before the Los Angeles immigration raids found that 54% of respondents approved of the administration's ' program to deport immigrants illegally.' Those numbers help clarify why the administration and more broadly congressional Republicans are politically comfortable leaning into support of the raids over vocal opposition from critics — and a persistent threat of legal challenge. 'I know there's no question places like California have thumbed their nose at the American people and decided they want to be a sanctuary for criminals,' Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said Monday, adding, 'I think he's exercising exactly what he said he'd do and what people elected him' to do. Trump advisers say the president also points to the fact that he got more votes in California in 2024 than in his previous campaigns, even though he still badly lost the heavily Democratic-leaning state. The administration's response to the protests does seem to have one eye on the reaction in conservative media, a space increasingly dominated by pro-Trump influencers. Some of those influencers have been posting from the protests — most notably Phil McGraw, a well-known Trump supporter better known as 'Dr. Phil,' who embedded with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the Los Angeles raids, as he did during similar immigration raids in Chicago this year. The Trump adviser, asked about McGraw's involvement, said: 'This is an important moment in American history. People have a right to see it in a way not unfairly skewed by a biased mainstream media.' The adviser wouldn't elaborate on how McGraw, whose presence was first reported by CNN, was able to have front-line access to the federal immigration operations. A spokesman for McGraw didn't respond to a request for comment. Republicans more broadly also see the fight as a political winner and say Democrats are functionally taking the bait on an issue in which polling has given Trump an advantage. 'I think it is a symptom of how far left this party has done when you have major Democrats standing on the side of illegal aliens that are torching vehicles,' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Fox News on Monday. 'It is one of the reasons the Democratic Party is struggling so much nationally,' he added. Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump administration official, said the raids shouldn't be a surprise because immigration is a 'legitimate issue' the voters have signaled they care about. 'There is no political upside in defending or denying the images of burning cars, rioters and looting and the destruction,' he said of Democrats. 'A feeling that things have spun out of control in California and that government can't effectively govern. … It has changed the conversation from illegal immigration to a breakdown in society.' Still, there has been some disagreement — at least in public messaging — about how far to push in going after California Democrats, a break between what may be politically popular with the base and what's politically realistic. The clearest example centers on the Trump administration's authorizing the deployment of National Guard troops over the opposition of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have argued that inserting National Guard troops will inflame tensions and potential violence — a response that has led Trump to signal he would consider arresting Newsom if he were to continue what the administration considers to be his interference. 'I would do it if I were Tom,' Trump said, referring to his 'border czar,' Tom Homan. 'I think it's great. Gavin likes the publicity. But I do think it would be a great thing.' While detaining Newsom would no doubt please Trump's MAGA base, White House officials privately say it's not currently in the cards. 'It's not being actively planned or considered,' a senior White House official said. 'But anyone who breaks federal law puts themselves at risk of being arrested. That's just a basic fact.' A second White House official said that if either Newsom or Bass, a former Democratic congresswoman, do something at odds with federal immigration law, they could be detained. But the official also acknowledged that the optics of arresting California officials amid an immigration fight they believe most Americans support could backfire with some Republican voters because, at the moment, it doesn't appear they have actually broken any immigration laws. The official said there isn't some grand strategy to deploy National Guard troops in blue cities across the country; the administration is simply waiting to see whether other protests get out of control. Meanwhile, Newsom has leaned into the threats, practically daring the administration to arrest him rather than focusing on the protesters. 'He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me,' Newsom told MSNBC on Sunday. Referring to Homan, he added: 'That kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let's go.' On Monday, California sued the Trump administration, arguing that Trump's federalizing the state's National Guard is 'unlawful.' 'Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion,' Democratic state Attorney General Rob Bonta said. 'The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the president's authority under the law — and not one we take lightly. We're asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.' Trump supporters have lined up behind him, with some even offering to head to Los Angeles to help, despite having no law enforcement experience. 'Preparing to deploy … to Los Angeles,' vocal Trump supporter Benny Johnson said on X. He followed up with a post to his 3.7 million followers showing him wearing military-style gear with his name on it. The increasingly contentious political fight over Los Angeles, administration officials admit, is no longer about just deporting those with criminal records, which was Trump's main pitch to voters on the campaign trail. On Monday, an MSNBC host asked Homan whether everyone ICE has arrested as part of the Trump administration's immigration efforts had criminal records, and he had a blunt response. 'Absolutely not,' he said.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Trump's Guard deployment to LA protests puts Newsom in political predicament
June 9 (Reuters) - Soon after scattered protests broke out in Los Angeles on Friday in the wake of federal immigration raids, President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke by phone. Trump never mentioned any federal response, according to Newsom, who described the conversation as "very cordial" on MSNBC on Sunday. Twenty-four hours later, Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops to the state, bypassing Newsom and igniting another firestorm over his aggressive efforts to deport migrants living in the U.S. illegally. For Newsom, governor of the nation's most populous state and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, Trump's gambit has created substantial political risks. Throughout Trump's first and second terms, Democratic governors have struggled to find the most effective approach to dealing with the mercurial Republican president; confronting Trump can result in backlash, but conceding ground sometimes encourages him to push harder. Newsom and Trump have often clashed in the past, with Trump calling the governor "Newscum" and Newsom declaring after Trump's election victory that he would "Trump-proof" California. During Trump's first months in office, however, Newsom has often opted for appeasement rather than antagonism - meeting the president on the tarmac when Trump visited during January's devastating wildfires and interviewing leading Trump acolytes such as Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon on his new podcast. But Trump's decision to send troops into California - the first time in decades that a president had done so absent a request from a governor - and his claim that Los Angeles was being "invaded" by violent mobs appear to have convinced Newsom to abandon his conciliatory approach. "I've always wanted to approach engagement with the president of the United States in a respectful and responsible way," Newsom told MSNBC on Sunday. "But there's no working with the president, there's only working for him – and I will never work for Donald Trump." Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said Newsom was incompetent and that he should be arrested. "I think his primary crime is running for governor because he's done such a bad job," Trump said when asked what crime Newsom had committed. The state sued Trump on Monday, seeking to force him to rescind the Guard deployment. Meanwhile, about 700 Marines will be sent to Los Angeles until more Guard personnel can arrive, a U.S. official said. Newsom is trying to navigate choppy political waters, according to strategists from both parties. As the governor of California, a deep-blue Democratic state that Trump has gleefully caricatured at every opportunity, Newsom could struggle to appeal to swing voters as a national candidate without moderating his image. There is also the risk that angering Trump could harm Newsom's 39 million constituents; the governor is still waiting for federal funding to help rebuild after the wildfires, while the president recently threatened to cut the state's education funding after a transgender girl competed in a girls' track and field championship event. At the same time, Democratic voters want to see their leaders fight tooth-and-nail against what they see as Trump's lawlessness and corruption. "He's serving his own ambitions as well as the state of California, and those two things don't often coincide," said Steven Maviglio, a longtime Democratic consultant in the state. "It's a dilemma for Newsom." The protests allowed Trump to tout his hardline immigration policies while claiming California was helpless to stop the violence without his intervention. "On this one, I think the president has really check-mated the governor," Maviglio added. "This fed right into his scenario of what California is all about...a wildly liberal state with lawlessness and immigrants and no rules." Jon Fleischman, a Republican strategist and former executive director of the state Republican Party, said images of burning cars and protesters waving Mexican flags only served to bolster Trump's position. Newsom, he argued, had taken Trump's bait by blaming him for the escalation of violence. "Donald Trump can't force somebody to throw a rock at a police car," he said. Other Democratic governors have grappled with similar predicaments under Trump's administration. In April, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, also seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, visited the White House to discuss the future of a military base in her state, but was caught by surprise in the Oval Office when Trump signed executive orders targeting his political enemies. A photograph of the governor covering her face from cameras went viral. "Balancing your state's needs and working with President Trump, if you're a Democratic governor, is always going to be a delicate act," said Chris Meagher, a Democratic communications consultant. "I think the more that Governor Newsom can keep his head down and do the work and show that he has the situation under control, the better off that he's going to be."
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Trump responds to wild claims that Elon Musk took drugs at White House
President Donald Trump answered a question about Elon Musk 's drug use while leading DOGE's efforts in Washington with a shrug on Monday. On Monday, Trump was asked about the May 30 The New York Times report that said while campaigning for Trump, Musk had been doing so much ketamine it was affecting his bladder, while also taking Ecstasy and psychadelic mushrooms. During Musk's goodbye fete in the Oval Office, which took place the day the Times' story came out, the billionaire was asked about the claims directly and responded by attacking the newspaper's 'Russiagate' reportage. 'Also, to be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their a** off,' Musk wrote the next day on X. 'I tried *prescription* ketamine a few years ago and said so on X, so this not even news. It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven't taken it since then.' During Monday's event, Trump was asked if Musk had drugs at the White House. 'I really don't know, I don't think so, I hope not,' Trump replied. He then added, 'I wish him well ... I just wish him well, very well, actually.' Trump and Musk had a remarkable falling out on Thursday that got so brutal, the SpaceX and Tesla head pushed that the president of the United States was named in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The president threatened to terminate Musk's government contracts. Musk said he'd support Trump's impeachment - and for him to be replaced by 40-year-old Vice President J.D. Vance. There were reports that said Trump planned to sell off the Tesla he purchased earlier this year to show support for Musk when liberals were boycotting and protesting at his businesses over his work leading DOGE, the Trump-created Department of Government Efficiency. 'I haven't heard that, I mean, I may move the Tesla around a little bit,' Trump told reporters Monday. He also said he'd keep Musk's Starlink system in place. Trump also said he never saw Musk get physical with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which had also been alleged. 'No I didn't,' the president answered. 'They did have an argument, but I didn't see a lot of physicality there,' Trump said. There was, of course, cocaine found in the White House during the last administration, with the Daily Mail the first to publish pictures of the small bag. The FBI and the Secret Service investigated the discovered cocaine but a culprit was never found. The Biden White House pushed back when asked if it was possible the cocaine could have belonged to first son Hunter Biden, whose struggles with drug addiction were well known. The Biden family was enjoying a retreat at Camp David ahead of the Fourth of July holiday when the drugs were discovered in 2023. Since Trump took over, the FBI reopened a probe into the White House cocaine last month. The cocaine probe was among a number of investigations the FBI decided to reopen, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on X.
