Federal Worker Board Democrat Retires as Trump Upheaval Builds

Merit Systems Protection Board Member Ray Limon, a Democrat, announced his retirement as the Trump administration targets the agency’s leadership and initiates firings and lay offs of federal workers.

Friday would be Limon’s last day at the agency, the MSPB said in a statement. His departure leaves the board—which hears personnel disputes between federal workers and their agencies—with a partisan deadlock of one Republican and one Democratic member.

Democratic MSPB Chair Cathy Harris was temporarily reinstated Feb. 18 by a federal district judge after she was fired by President Donald Trump on Feb. 10. The administration has appealed the judge’s order.

“Ray was instrumental in the adjudication of virtually the entire backlog in less than three years,” Harris said in Friday’s statement. “I wish him the very best.”

Former President Joe Biden nominated Limon, who was confirmed by the Senate in 2022 and helped the board chip away at a backlog of nearly 4,000 cases after it was without a quorum for five years. His term was due to expire in March.

Limon’s exit also comes as the board is facing an uptick in cases. The MSPB received 1,845 complaints in the past week—more than it did in the prior 12 weeks combined, according to a board report.

The board declined to comment on the reason for the increase in complaints, but it coincides with the Trump administration’s push to cull large swaths of the federal workforce in what it calls a government efficiency effort to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.