Trump taps DOJ appellate lawyer to tip EEOC to Republican control
By Daniel Wiessner
May 7 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has nominated an assistant U.S. attorney in Florida to fill a vacancy on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which currently lacks a quorum after the Republican president fired two Democratic members.
If confirmed, Brittany Bull Panuccio would give Republicans a 2-1 majority at the EEOC and the ability to curb policies that clash with Trump's agenda, including legal protections for transgender workers and support for workplace diversity programs. Trump sent his nomination of Panuccio to the Senate on Tuesday.
Panuccio and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Panuccio has handled civil and criminal appeals for the Justice Department in the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 2021, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She was previously a law clerk at two other federal appeals courts and an associate at Jones Day. Panuccio also worked as a special counselor at the U.S. Department of Education during Trump's first term, where she helped draft guidance that boosted legal protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.
Panuccio is a member of the Federalist Society, an influential network of conservative lawyers and judges, and has moderated events the group has hosted focused on education. Her husband, Jesse Panuccio, is a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner and was the acting U.S. Associate Attorney General for parts of Trump's first term.
The EEOC when fully stocked has three commissioners from the president's party, including the chair, and two from the opposing party.
The commission already had one vacancy when Trump in an unprecedented move fired Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows in January. Samuels has sued, claiming federal law shields EEOC commissioners from being removed at will by the president. Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, is the lone remaining Democrat at the agency.
Republican Commissioner Andrea Lucas, who was appointed acting chair by Trump in January, has ratcheted up scrutiny of workplace diversity, equity and inclusion policies and anti-discrimination protections for transgender people. But reversing existing rules and legal guidance requires a vote by at least three commissioners.
Read more:
Trump taps EEOC's Lucas for new term, Morgan Lewis partner for NLRB general counsel
Trump hobbles US anti-discrimination agency by firing Democrats
Trump names top lawyer for EEOC's chair as agency's acting general counsel
Trump sued by Democrat he removed from US civil rights agency
EEOC, signaling crackdown on DEI under Trump, says some policies are illegal
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