Mine Safety Review Commissioner Sues Trump Over Termination

President Donald Trump unlawfully fired a Biden-appointed commissioner to the independent agency that hears appeals to mine safety disputes, a new lawsuit says.

Former Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission member Moshe Z. Marvit alleged his removal is unconstitutional and violates the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, according to a complaint filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The Mine Act allows the president to remove FMSHRC members only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

Bloomberg Law first reported Marvit’s termination Wednesday, along with the closure of the agency’s Pittsburgh office and the firing of more than a dozen staffers. The lawsuit notes, however, that Marvit hasn’t yet received official notice from the White House, and that his removal was announced in an email circulated by Trump-appointed Republican Chair Marco Rajkovich.

The White House has fired a swath of leaders at independent agencies like FMSHRC during Trump’s second term, including at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. The president’s power to remove those officials, despite their longstanding removal protections, is currently being weighed by the US Supreme Court in a case involving fired Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter.

Marvit’s attorney, Hugh Baran of Katz Banks Kumin LLP, said Trump is attempting to dismantle an independent agency established by Congress as a safeguard to protect miners.

“Our client is filing suit today to defend this independent agency and assert his rights,” Baran said.

FMSHRC and the White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is Marvit v. Trump, D.D.C., No. 1:26-cv-01563, 5/7/26.