Joe Biden delivered a rousing speech following his inauguration with a theme of healing the bitter divide in our nation and coming together in the wake of Donald Trump’s “destructive” presidency. He then turned around and immediately demanded that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel resign nearly a year ahead of the end of his contract. When Peter Robb, a Trump appointee, refused, citing the need to keep the NRLB independent of political manipulation, Biden fired him. This action is unprecedented in the history of the independent department. (Free Beacon)
Within minutes of his inauguration, Biden threatened to fire National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel Peter Robb if he did not voluntarily resign his position as the top prosecutor at the agency. Robb, whose four-year term was set to expire in November, rebuked Biden’s demand, saying it would undermine the independence of the agency and the enforcement of federal labor law.
“It was my understanding that the incoming administration intended to foster civility and unity in this country and in the governing of this country, promising to adhere to the rule of law and enabling its chief law enforcement officers the independence, free from White House interference, to enforce the laws of the United States,” Robb said in a letter obtained by Bloomberg Law. “A presidential removal of the NLRB’s General Counsel prior to the expiration of his or her term violates these promises and principles.”
Wait a minute. Didn’t Biden say we needed to stop politicizing everything? Cobb responded by reminding us of the inherent, independent nature of the NRLB and how it was designed to be free of partisan political influence. He wrote, “The removal of an incumbent General Counsel of the NLRB prior to the expiration of the term by a President of the United States is unprecedented.”
This action is in the same vein as the calls for Biden to fire SSA Commissioner Andrew Saul and his deputy, David Black, a move that Biden is reportedly looking upon favorably. Much like the general counsel at the NLRB, they serve staggered contracts of duty to prevent any sort of political “housecleaning” when administrations change from one party to the next. The people Trump has appointed followed his policy of cutting down on wasteful practices the unions engage in on the taxpayer’s dime and making it easier to terminate substandard and even criminal government employees. This makes the unions very unhappy.
The labor unions donate vast sums of money to Democratic candidates every year and Biden is no exception to that rule. Now that he’s gotten what he wanted, the unions expect to get their money’s worth and have Uncle Joe do their bidding. He’s obviously not opposed to holding up his end of the bargain.
This is a clear signal that we will be returning to business as usual in the swamp. As long as the unions remain in charge of all labor-related decisions and the taxpayers have no seat at the table, wasteful and abusive practices will continue. And by making a decision like this literally within minutes of taking office (Robb received the email demanding his resignation at 12:23 pm yesterday), Biden has sent a clear message to the unions that he plans to toe the line.
So much for the “national day of unity” malarkey that Biden and his spokespeople were spouting all day.