3 Members Of Federal Control Board In Puerto Rico Sue Trump, Others For Illegal Firings

Source: Huff Post/AP

Sep 18, 2025, 11:49 PM EDT


SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Three members of a federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances, who were recently fired by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Thursday alleging their firings were illegal. The lawsuit was filed against Trump; Sergio Gor, director of the White House personnel office; John E. Nixon, the lone remaining board member; and Robert F. Mujica, the board’s executive director.

Attorneys said that Arthur J. Gonzalez, Andrew G. Biggs and Betty A. Rosa were unlawfully removed from the board and asked that a judge reinstate them. “This is a case about power over the board and over Puerto Rico,” said Eduardo Santacana, an attorney with Cooley LLP, a law firm that is helping with the case. “The president is attempting to exert a lot of power here that he does not have.”

Dismissed by email

The lawsuit revealed more details about the abrupt dismissals last month, including that the deputy director of the U.S. presidential personnel office sent Gonzalez and Rosa a two-sentence email on Aug. 1 notifying them that they had been removed. Gonzalez was board chairman at the time.

Nearly two weeks later, Biggs received the same message. “Neither email articulated any ‘cause’ or provided any other justification for the removals,” the lawsuit stated. “Those purported removals were unlawful.”

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