A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Republican U.S. President Donald Trump from firing the Democratic chair of a U.S. agency that hears appeals by federal government employees when they are fired or disciplined.

President Donald Trump did not have the authority to attempt to fire a member of the board responsible for protecting federal government employees from political reprisals or retaliation for whistleblowing,

Cathy Harris had sued to block her dismissal from the panel that handles government employee disputes. Employees swept up in the Trump administration’s mass firings have appealed to the board.