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President Biden renominated the current chair of the National Labor Relations Board for a third term, potentially locking in Democratic control of the labor agency into 2026 (Reuters, subscription).

What’s going on: President Biden late last week announced that he intends to renominate NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran for another five-year term, “even though McFerran’s current five-year term does not expire until December.” He also nominated Joshua Ditelberg, a labor and employment attorney, for an empty Republican seat vacant since 2022.

• McFerran—a board member since 2014 with the exception of a brief break in late 2019 and early 2020—has served as NLRB chair since January 2021. She has led the Democratic-majority body in multiple decisions “that have made it easier for unions to organize workers and have expanded the type of concerted activity protected by federal labor law.”
• Confirming Ditelberg would restore a full complement to the NLRB following a recent break in precedent that saw another Democratic seat filled without a Republican pairing (Bloomberg Law, subscription). Republican lawmakers say “the longstanding absence of a second Republican member has created issues at the board.”

What it means: The renomination of McFerran toward the end of President Biden’s term coupled with the long-term Republican seat vacancy is a “move that could cement Democratic control of the agency even if Biden is unseated by Republican challenger Donald Trump in November.”