Charlotte Burrows, a Democratic member and former chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission fired by Republican President Donald Trump, has hired a pair of Washington lawyers known for pursuing high-profile employment and sexual misconduct allegations.
The lawyers, Lisa Banks and Debra Katz of Katz Banks Kumin, are still considering Burrows' options, including a lawsuit, Banks said on Wednesday.
She declined to say what claims they could pursue to contest Trump's actions but said they could take action in the coming days.
No president has ever fired a commissioner on the EEOC, which enforces federal laws banning workplace discrimination. Trump on Monday also fired Jocelyn Samuels, another Democratic commissioner, leaving the five-member agency without a quorum to adopt rules, direct staff to take certain actions, or issue rulings in discrimination cases brought by federal employees.
Samuels said in statement that she and Burrows were fired over their views on sex discrimination and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has said are discriminatory.
Banks and Katz are best known for representing Christine Blasey Ford as she pressed sexual assault accusations against now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh that became the centerpiece of his 2018 confirmation battle.
They have also represented whistleblowers from Boeing, Twitter and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The EEOC firings came in a week of frenzied of activity by Trump, from releasing a flood of executive orders to firing inspectors general and career Justice Department prosecutors, as he pursues an agenda to remake the U.S. government and tamp down opposition.
Banks and Katz in a statement on Tuesday criticized Burrows' firing as the "latest political attack we have seen from President Donald Trump in his coordinated effort to strip-mine the federal government."
Banks said her firm is talking with other high-profile government officials who were terminated by the Trump administration but declined to identify them. She declined to comment on whether Burrows is paying standard legal rates for her representation or how a lawsuit in her case would be funded.
Samuels' term at the EEOC was set to expire in July 2026 and Burrows' term two years later. Samuels in a separate statement said she was also considering her legal options. Samuels did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
