U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Democratic senators in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss his $1.9 trillion U.S. bailout plan in Washington, D.C., Feb. 3, 2021.
An Executive Council of the United States (ACUS) official appointed by former President Trump is suing the Biden Administration, alleging that the White House illegally threatened to terminate his position on the council.
Roger Severino filed the lawsuit against Biden and White House personnel officials in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday (Feb. 3) and is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction from a judge to prevent his “unlawful removal” by the new administration.
Severino was previously an official at the Department of health and Human Services (HHS) before being appointed by Trump to the U.S. Executive Council in August 2020 and reappointed by Trump last month. He now directs the Center for Ethics and Public Policy’s HHS accountability program.
Severino’s new term is set to last three years, according to the rules. But Severino says in the lawsuit that he received an email this week from Gautam Raghavan, deputy director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, asking him to resign. In the letter, Raghavan warned him that if he did not resign, he would be fired.
Severino said he wrote back to Raghavan asking for reasons for his resignation, but has not yet received a response from White House personnel or anyone else in the administration.
Severino’s attorney said President Biden does not have the authority under 5 U.S.C. 595(b) or Article II of the Constitution to terminate the appointment Severino received.
Neither the White House nor the U.S. Executive Council responded to requests for comment.
White House personnel officials have sent similar requests for resignations to other officials, according to the lawsuit. Severino has declined to resign. He later explained in a separate statement that he has been an active and valued member within the U.S. Executive Council and that he had no reason to be fired.
Severino wrote, “President Biden’s attempt to remove me from office in violation of the law exposes his previous noble promises to heal and unite all Americans as nothing more than cynical manipulation.” “It is notable that the Trump Administration has never, since taking office, terminated ACUS members appointed under Obama, before their terms expired, and I believe this is the first Time in the history of ACUS that a president has attempted to take such action.”
The Administrative Conference of the United States’ Council (ACUS Council) consists of 10 government officials and citizens subject to direct appointment by the president. As of Feb. 4, only six members were listed on the council’s website, and Severino was one of the members not listed.
According to ACUS’s website, the unit is an independent federal agency that convenes expert representatives from the public and private sectors to make recommendations on improving administrative processes and procedures. In turn, the council can convene plenary sessions, propose statutes and regulations for a vote by the General Assembly, review budget proposals, approve appointments of public members, and conduct research and studies.
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