Neal Katyal, Milbank join team suing Trump over bid to oust Democratic official
By Mike Scarcella
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Prominent appellate lawyer and Donald Trump critic Neal Katyal has joined a lawsuit challenging the Republican president's effort to remove the head of a key agency that hears cases brought by federal government workers who are fired or disciplined.
Katyal, who left his longtime law firm Hogan Lovells earlier this month to lead the appellate practice at rival Milbank, filed papers on Saturday to join the legal team representing Merit Systems Protection Board chair Cathy Harris in Washington, D.C. federal court.
Harris, a Democrat, sued Trump this month over his effort to oust her from the agency, where her seven-year term was not set to expire until 2028.
A judge in Washington has blocked Trump’s effort to fire Harris for now, and the court temporarily reinstated her while her lawsuit is pending. The U.S. Justice Department has appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Katyal and representatives from Milbank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hogan Lovells had no immediate comment.
Nearly a dozen major U.S. law firms, including Hogan Lovells, are involved in lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Katyal and Milbank, which had not been publicly involved in any of the cases before now, will represent Harris along with her existing lawyers at smaller firms including Kator, Parks, Weiser & Wright, which specializes in employment matters for federal workers. Two other former Hogan Lovells attorneys now at Milbank will work with Katyal on the case.
Katyal served as acting U.S. solicitor general during the Democratic Obama administration and has argued 52 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.
During the first Trump administration, he and Hogan Lovells sued to oppose Trump's effort to impose a travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries, and Katyal made frequent media appearances criticizing Trump's actions and providing legal analysis.
Read more:
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