The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is down to two members, following the expiration of Tristan Leavitt’s term. The MSPB went without a quorum for five years and without any members for several of those years. It operated with a full board (three members) from June 2022 to March 2023. The Biden Administration has not nominated a replacement on the board for Leavitt.

Leavitt announced he will run for delegate in West Virginia’s 53rd District. The MSPB will maintain a quorum and be able to finalize cases while Leavitt’s seat is unfilled. However, the pace of resolving the backlog, which topped out at 3,500 when the board had no members, will slow considerably. The backlog had decreased by approximately 20 percent by the end of 2022.

“We are very grateful for Tristan Leavitt’s service to the board, both as a member and previously as general counsel and acting agency head,” MSPB’s Cathy Harris told Government Executive. “As the board still has a quorum, Raymond Limon and I look forward to continuing to work toward reducing the inherited inventory of cases that amassed during the board’s five-year lack of quorum.”