President Biden has nominated Raymond A. Limon to be a Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Mr. Limon is currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Capital and Diversity, and Chief Human Capital Officer, and he is a career member of the Senior Executive Service at the Department of the Interior (DOI).
This is President Biden’s second nomination for the MSPB. Earlier this year, he nominated Ms. Cathy A. Harris to Chair the currently-vacant Merit Systems Protection Board. Both nominations were sent to the Senate on June 24, 2021: Nominations Sent to the Senate | The White House.
Notably, the MSPB is a three-member board, and a third nominee has not yet been announced by President Biden. However, only two members are required for the Board to have quorum and to be able to issue decisions in many cases.
If both Mr. Limon and Ms. Harris are confirmed by the Senate, the MSPB would finally have quorum restored in order to begin issuing decisions again. The Board has been without quorum for an unprecedented amount of time, so the hope of finally having quorum restored is a welcome relief for federal employment practitioners and the thousands of current and former federal employees who have endured far too much time in limbo waiting for their cases to be decided by the Board.