Civil Rights Agency Moves to Fire Judge Fighting Trump Directives
13th May 2025
Note: ‘Administrative law judges’ aren’t real judges (pursuant to Article III of the Constitution). They lobbied for, and were granted, the right to be called ‘judges’ to enhance their status. They are Executive Branch employees, not Judicial Branch employees, as witness the fact that she’s part of a union.
The federal agency tasked with protecting workers’ civil rights has moved to terminate a New York administrative judge who has resisted compliance with directives from the White House, including President Donald Trump’s executive order decreeing male and female as two “immutable” sexes.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in response to Trump’s order has moved to drop at least seven of its own pending cases representing transgender workers alleging discrimination, and is classifying all new gender identity-related discrimination cases as its lowest priority, signaling a major departure from its prior interpretation of civil rights law.
EEOC Administrative Judge Karen Ortiz, who in February criticized the agency’s Trump-appointed head, Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, in an email copied to more than 1,000 colleagues, on Wednesday was placed on administrative leave. She also received notice that the EEOC leadership sought to fire her, accusing her of “profoundly unprofessional” conduct.
Which ought to come as no surprise to anyone.