Washington, D.C. — Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth G. Oyer filed today a legal motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit seeking to pause a Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) order that has left her challenge to her unlawful removal in limbo for months. Democracy Forward represents Oyer in this appeal.
Oyer, a career member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), was abruptly terminated in March 2025 without cause, notice, or the due-process protections guaranteed by federal law. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed her removal was justified under Article II of the Constitution, but the termination notice was signed not by the Attorney General, but by the Deputy Attorney General, a distinction that DOJ itself has conceded is legally fatal to its own theory.
Rather than address those defects, an MSPB administrative judge dismissed Oyer’s appeal without prejudice, leaving the underlying claims unresolved and subject to refiling for six months. This delay is forcing Oyer to wait until at least May 2026 before her case can proceed. Today’s filing asks the Federal Circuit to pause that dismissal order pending review and allow her challenge to move forward now.
In her filing, Oyer argues that the delay compounds the harm from her unlawful termination, deprives her of timely post-deprivation review, and leaves her without meaningful recourse while the Trump-Vance administration advances what she describes as an unprecedented claim of unchecked presidential removal authority.
The motion explains that even if the MSPB ultimately rules in other pending cases about Article II removal authority, those decisions cannot resolve Oyer’s case because DOJ has consistently maintained that only the Attorney General could exercise such authority.
“DOJ’s theory collapses under its own weight,” said Elena Goldstein, Legal Director at Democracy Forward. “They claim sweeping presidential removal power, yet even under their own interpretation, the official who signed Ms. Oyer’s termination lacked the authority to do so. Instead of defending the legality of her firing, the government is trying to delay accountability. The Constitution does not permit the executive branch to sidestep civil service protections and then stall judicial review when challenged. Career public servants cannot be left in indefinite limbo because the administration does not know how to defend its actions.”
Oyer’s motion also highlights broader concerns about the MSPB’s independence, pointing to recent executive actions that have raised serious questions about whether federal employees can obtain neutral and timely review of unlawful removals.
Oyer is asking the Federal Circuit to pause the MSPB’s dismissal order, restore her ability to pursue her appeal without further delay, and ensure that the Civil Service Reform Act’s protections are not rendered meaningless through procedural maneuvering.
The case is Elizabeth Oyer v. Department of Justice, et al.
The legal team at Democracy Forward includes Joshua Salzman, Webb Lyons, and Elena Goldstein.
Read the filing here.
