His unlawful purge of the National Labor Relations Board on Monday serves all three goals at once. With these firings, Trump has paralyzed the board, asserted control over its agenda, and engineered a legal showdown over the scope of his constitutional authority.

The removal of the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel had been expected. But the firing of a Democratic member stops it from protecting workers’ rights, for now.

President Donald Trump has removed a Democratic member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board from office, an unprecedented move that will escalate an ongoing legal battle over the scope of the president's powers to control federal agencies.