President Donald Trump has removed a Democratic member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board from office, an unprecedented move that will escalate an ongoing legal battle over the scope of the president's powers to control federal agencies.

Democrat Gwynne Wilcox, whose term was supposed to run through August 2028, said she believes her firing violates Supreme Court precedent.

Jennifer Abruzzo was removed as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. She was widely seen as having taken an aggressive approach in enforcing workers’ rights.

The norm-shattering move is consistent with the President’s determination to purge the government of workers his administration perceives as disloyal.

The Justice Department has fired more than a dozen lawyers, involved in criminal investigations into Donald Trump during his campaign for president, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN,