After nearly a year of paralysis, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) is once again operational. Following President Trump’s firing of Democrat Member Gwynne Wilcox in January 2025, the Board had only two active members, meaning it lacked a quorum of at least three members needed to resolve election objections and decide unfair labor practices cases—its primary functions. With the expiration of Republican Chairman Marvin Kaplan’s five-year term in August 2025, the Board’s sole remaining member was Democrat David Prouty.

That changed on Dec. 18, 2025, with the Senate confirming Trump’s Republican Board member nominees James Murphy, who will serve as the Board’s Chair, and Scott Mayer. Murphy is a career Board attorney, with decades of experience at the agency. Mayer joins the Board from his role as Chief Labor Counsel for Boeing. The reestablished quorum means that the Republican-majority Board, which is expected to be much more closely aligned with employer-friendly positions, now can immediately overrule union- and employee-friendly Biden-era Board decisions. But will it?

Customarily, the Board will not overturn its precedent or create new law absent a three-member majority in support. In other words, though nothing is legally stopping the current three-member Board from issuing decisions establishing new precedent, the historical convention is to wait until three like-minded members can join in the decision. Although not binding, the practice exists to promote the stability of and avoid even more dramatic pendulum swings in labor law.

Whether Murphy and Mayer would follow this traditional practice was a hot topic during confirmation hearings before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee in October 2025. During the hearings, both Murphy and Mayer acknowledged the three-member majority vote convention and assured HELP Committee Senators that they would adhere to it. Given Murphy’s institutionalist background, it would surprise many if he and Mayer ignore the rule.

To achieve a three-member Republican majority, Trump will need to nominate another Republican member, whom the Senate would need to vet and confirm. In the interim, the now-functional Board is expected to swiftly issue decisions in uncontroversial cases about which all three members will agree, despite sitting on different sides of the aisle. These decisions are already teed up for them, thanks to Member Prouty and former Chair Kaplan reportedly generating draft opinions for low-hanging fruit cases during the Board’s dormant period.

As part of the Dec. 18 vote, the Senate also confirmed Trump’s NLRB General Counsel nominee, management-side labor lawyer Crystal Carey, who is expected to promote moderate or pro-employer labor policies. Carey relieves Acting General Counsel William Cowen, who stepped in after Trump fired Biden-era General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo in January 2025. Cowen rescinded many General Counsel memoranda Abruzzo issued, effectively pulling back her pro-union policy directives to the Board’s Regions. Once settled into her new role, Carey will likely issue a memorandum instructing the Regions to submit certain types of cases to the Board’s Division of Advice for guidance. This memorandum should signal the key Biden-era cases Carey will seek to overturn during her tenure once three Republican members sit on the Board—or perhaps sooner if Murphy and Mayer depart from the traditional three-member majority vote rule.

For unions and employers interested in whether this activity will help speed up the backlog of cases awaiting action at the NLRB’s various Regional Offices, the activity this week will not lead to much assistance on that front. The Regional Offices remain staffed at a level not ideally suited to keep up with the backlog of newly-filed cases and pending matters still awaiting processing and a decision from a Regional Director.

Consult Taft’s Employment and Labor Relations attorneys for up-to-date guidance on this and other NLRB developments.