LeBlanc v. U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

Two members of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Board (PCLOB) are challenging their removal by President Trump without cause, arguing that the president does not have the statutory authority to remove PCLOB members at will.

The Brennan Center and co-counsel filed an friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 11 members of Congress supporting the lawsuit. The brief argues that Congress deliberately designed the PCLOB — an independent agency whose mission is to ensure that the federal government’s efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties — to insulate its work from White House interference. 

On January 27, 2025, President Trump fired the three Democratic members of the five-member board without cause. Two of the removed members, Edward Felten and Travis LeBlanc, filed a complaint in federal court arguing that the president lacked the statutory authority to remove them. On May 21, a district court ruled in favor of Felten and LeBlanc and ordered that they be reinstated. The government appealed the decision to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which agreed to hear the case on an expedited schedule.

On September 12, 2025, the Brennan Center and co-counsel filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 11 members of Congress. The brief explains the importance of maintaining the PCLOB’s independence and underscore the incompatibility of at-will removal and the board’s function as an aid to congressional oversight.

First, the brief argues that Congress intentionally protected PCLOB members from presidential control. Although Congress initially granted the president express authority to remove members at will, White House interference with the PCLOB’s first report to Congress prompted Congress to reconstitute the board as an independent agency in 2007 and expanded its duties to Congress.

Next, the brief illustrates the indispensable role that the PCLOB has played in facilitating congressional oversight of government surveillance programs, highlighting its contributions in the form of in-depth investigations, public reports, congressional testimony, and legislative recommendations. Indeed, Congress has enacted many of the PCLOB’s suggested reforms into law.

Finally, the brief argues that at-will removal authority would undermine Congress’s ability to trust that PCLOB reports and recommendations are independent, nonpartisan, and free from White House influence, interfering with its role as a valued resource for Congress.

This section will be updated as the case progresses.

For more on this case, see:

• Coalition Letter Condemns Firing of Three PCLOB Members