Dec 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday said President Donald Trump had the power to fire Democratic members of two federal labor boards, ​a major victory in the Republican president's bid to rein in agencies meant to ‌be independent from the White House.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a 2-1 decision ‌said federal laws allowing members of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board to be removed only for cause violated the U.S. Constitution.

The D.C. Circuit reversed separate rulings by two judges that had reinstated Cathy Harris to the merit board and Gwynne Wilcox to the NLRB. The ⁠Supreme Court in May temporarily ‌paused the lower court rulings.

The NLRB hears private-sector labor disputes and the merit board decides appeals by federal employees who have been disciplined or fired. ‍Because the merit board is often the only legal recourse for federal workers, it could have a key role in reviewing Trump's efforts to purge the federal workforce.