houston's renomination to the board proved to be something of a watershed. in 1947, the taft-hartley act expanded the nlrb's size from three to five members. president harry s. truman had appointed one relatively liberal and one relatively conservative member to the board after the act's passage. houston was renominated for the nlrb on april 12, 1948. his renomination was seen as something of a restoration of a "new deal" (e.g., liberal) coalition on the nlrb, one which would interpret federal labor law more expansively and in favor of labor unions.