Black Federal Workers Could Feel Impact of Civil Service Fight

June 10, 2026

A group of eight Democratic senators has filed a legal brief asking a federal appeals court to reverse a Merit Systems Protection Board decision that removed two immigration judges without standard civil service protections. The senators argue this ruling could eliminate employment safeguards for millions of federal workers by allowing the executive branch to override congressional authority in managing the civil service system. The case emerges amid broader Trump administration efforts to restructure federal employment, including reclassifying thousands of positions into categories with fewer protections and dismantling diversity programs.

Who is affected

Two former immigration judges (Megan Jackler and Brandon Jaroch) who were removed from their positions
Millions of federal government employees across various agencies
More than 162,000 federal employees in the D.C. metropolitan area (41.2% of the regional workforce)
African American federal workers (29% of federal workers in the region)
Black residents of the District of Columbia (43.4% of D.C.'s population)
Federal workers at the Departments of Education, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and Urban Development
Customs and Border Protection officers, passport and visa examiners, and agricultural commodity graders
Communities in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia that depend on federal employment

What action is being taken

Eight Democratic senators (Chris Van Hollen, Michael Bennet, Mark Warner, Mazie Hirono, Tim Kaine, Gary Peters, Andy Kim, and Angela Alsobrooks) are filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
The Trump administration is restructuring the federal workforce
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are being dismantled across government agencies
Thousands of federal positions are being reclassified into Schedule Policy/Career jobs with fewer protections
Major reductions and reorganizations are occurring at various federal agencies

Why it matters

This case threatens to fundamentally alter the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches by potentially allowing presidents to remove federal workers at will, effectively dismantling the merit-based civil service system that Congress established over more than a century. The civil service protections have historically prevented a return to the 19th-century spoils system characterized by corruption, patronage hiring, and political loyalty-based employment. For the D.C. region specifically, federal employment has been a critical driver of economic stability and a pathway to the middle class for Black families, providing merit-based hiring, standardized pay, pensions, and anti-discrimination protections. With regional unemployment at 6.7% and Black unemployment approaching 10%, further reductions in protected federal employment could devastate communities that have long relied on government service for stable, middle-income jobs.

What's next

The senators are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to reverse the Merit Systems Protection Board's decision and reinstate the Civil Service Reform Act protections for the two dismissed immigration judges.

Read full article from source: The Washington Informer