Week 10 saw Trump’s biggest attack on the labor movement in history: his illegal attempt to outlaw federal unions and end union contracts. Trump is also seeking a way to serve a third presidential term in violation of the Constitution.
On March 27, President Trump issued an executive order illegally stripping collective bargaining rights from more than one million federal workers under the guise of national security. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance telling agencies to end union rights and union contracts and shut down grievance procedures. It also told agencies to continue Trump’s Reduction in Force (RIF) order but ignore RIF requirements in the union contracts that have been cancelled. AFGE will file a lawsuit against the administration for this illegal action.
Week 10 also saw Trump continuing to gaslight the public about not touching Social Security. But anyone who’s paying attention knows that creating a barrier to prevent people from accessing benefits is a benefit cut by another name. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has just released a paper detailing how Trump and DOGE are using these backdoor ways to cut Social Security benefits and how Trump’s extreme policy is hurting the American people. According to a recent survey, 42% of retirees age 65 and over said they wouldn’t be able to afford the basics such as food and housing without Social Security retirement benefits. An overwhelming majority of respondents, or 85%, also said they would rather raise taxes than have benefits reduced.
Amidst the bad news, Week 10 offered a glimpse of hope as people fought back and flipped the Senate seat held by a Republican in Pennsylvania’s 36th District. Last year Trump won this district by 15 points.
Here’s a quick recap of Trump’s attacks in his 10th week in office and how these actions hurt federal workers and the American people they serve.
March 29: Trump said he was not joking about finding a way to serve a third term as president despite the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution that limits presidents to two terms. This will create a constitutional crisis, and scholars are skeptical that he could find a loophole.
March 28: Trump announced all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees will be laid off as the agency is being merged with the Department of State. On the same day, the Appeals Court lifted, at least for now, a lower court’s order blocking the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from further cuts at USAID. AFGE and allies still have pending lawsuits against the administration for illegally shutting down USAID.
March 27: Trump directed agencies to strip federal workers of their collective bargaining rights and end union contracts, prompting AFGE to file a lawsuit against the administration. AFGE is urging union members to immediately call their members of Congress to stop this abuse of power and illegal action.
March 27: Trump is firing 10,000 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), endangering public health and making America sick again. Being let go are 3,500 from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2,400 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, 1,200 from the National Institutes of Health, and 300 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, claimed over half of HHS employees “don’t even come to work.” Kennedy has hired another vaccine skeptic David Geier to conduct a federal study on whether vaccines cause autism.
March 27: Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports, making it more expensive for American automakers to produce vehicles as they source auto parts from around the world. The tariffs mean thousands of dollars more for Americans looking to buy new vehicles and lower sales for automakers.
March 27: Elon Musk gave away $1 million to a voter who signed a petition against Democratic-supported candidate Susan Crawford in the high-stakes Supreme Court election in Wisconsin April 1. He earlier offered $100 to every petition signer. Musk is desperate to help Republican candidate Brad Schimel win the race in the state where Tesla has a lawsuit pending. He has spent more than $20 million backing Schimel in the race.
“It’s corrupt, it’s extreme, and it’s disgraceful to our state and judiciary,” Crawford’s campaign said.
March 27: A U.S. Appeals Court refused to pause a judge’s earlier ruling which required the Trump administration to reinstate more than 17,000 probationary employees at six agencies illegally fired.
March 26: In another attack against unions, Trump moved to shut down the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), a federal agency that helps resolve collective bargaining disputes through mediation, training, facilitation, and alternative dispute resolution. The agency will go from 200 employees to 15.
March 26: In another legal setback for Trump, a judge blocked his efforts to ban transgender people from serving in the military.
March 26: SSA backtracked on some of its requirements after facing a backlash over new rules that make it harder for people to access their Social Security benefits.
March 26: Trump is facing a class action complaint over his firing of federal employees involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion activities.
March 26: Reuters reported that a key member of Elon Musk’s DOGE team once provided technical support to a cybercrime gang that stole data and cyberstalked an FBI agent.
March 26: A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pause its plan to eliminate Radio Free Europe, which has been in operation since the early years of the Cold War in 27 languages.
March 25: Trump issued a sweeping executive order that would make it harder for people to vote, especially the elderly, people with disabilities, and people of color. The directive requires states to stop counting absentee and mail-in ballots received after Election Day and direct the Election Assistance Commission to change the national mail voter registration form to require proof of citizenship, such as a passport, to register to vote.
March 25: Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has taken down a website that allows the public to track funds appropriated by Congress, which mandated the process in 2022 after the first Trump administration illegally withheld funds from Ukraine in 2019. Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Sen. Jeff Merkley demanded that OMB Director Russ Vought immediately restore the website.
March 25: At his confirmation hearing, Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration, Frank Bisignano, tried to evade questions from lawmakers about the backdoor ways this administration is trying to cut Social Security benefits. He also tried to distance himself from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but Democratic lawmakers are calling for an investigation about Bisignano’s involvement with the organization as they raised concerns about their intent to privatize Social Security and cut benefits.
March 25: At a congressional hearing, Republican members of Congress advanced legislation that would allow Trump to unilaterally abolish federal agencies and fire federal workers without congressional oversight.
March 25: House Speaker Mike Johnson floated the idea of eliminating district courts where dozens of judges have ruled against the Trump administration, while Republicans echoed Trump’s call to impeach judges that ruled against him. The House is also scheduled to vote on a bill that would bar district court judges from issuing a nationwide injunctions.
March 25: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) appears to be violating the law when it told fired probationary employees that they would be reinstated but wouldn’t receive back pay or health benefits.
March 25: National security concerns have now materialized as Reuters reported shell companies from China are trying to recruit fired federal workers.
March 25: The Government Accountability Office has accepted Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s request to study the impact of Trump’s mass firings of federal workers on national security and on the health and safety of the American people.
March 24: Trump’s HHS abruptly cut more than $12 billion in federal grants to states that were being used to monitor viruses and fight diseases and emerging threats like bird flu and the measle outbreak ravaging many areas. States are now laying off scientists and epidemiologists. This funding cut is in addition to the recent canceling of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for things like research into HIV prevention and vaccine hesitancy.
March 24: Bad news for Americans suffering from natural disasters: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced at a cabinet meeting she’s going to eliminate FEMA.
March 24: Trump’s top national security officials have committed one of the most serious security breaches in American history by discussing a planned military attack in Yemen on an auto-deleting messaging app Signal and accidentally adding a journalist – The Atlantic editor in chief – into the group chat. By not conducting business through legitimate channels, critics said the Trump administration is trying to evade legal scrutiny and record keeping and is endangering troops on the ground.
Instead of correcting the wrong to prevent future breaches, Trump officials denied any wrongdoing and continued to gaslight the public. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Congress that no classified information was sent on the thread. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, who detailed the pending attack in the chat, told reporters “Nobody was texting war plans” and attacked the Atlantic editor in chief, calling him “deceitful.” Hegseth is now facing calls for his resignation.
Non-partisan watchdog American Oversight is suing the Trump administration, alleging their use of Signal for official communications violates the Federal Records Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. The Atlantic on March 26 published the full text thread concerning the attack to counter the Trump administration’s misinformation and denial.
The incident, which is referred to as “Signalgate” in the media, alarmed U.S. allies around the world.
March 24: A judge prohibited DOGE from accessing sensitive personal information at the Office of Personnel Management, Treasury Department, and the Department of Education while a lawsuit is ongoing.
March 22: Trump threatened law firms that file lawsuits he deems “frivolous” against him and his extreme agenda. He issued a memo authorizing the attorney general and Homeland Security secretary to sanction these law firms and revoke attorneys’ security clearances or end law firms’ federal contracts if they deem the lawsuits “unreasonable.”
There are over 160 pending lawsuits challenging Trump’s extreme and anti-democracy directives and policies. Dozens of judges have ruled against the administration for violating various laws including the Constitution.
March 22: Trump’s immigration enforcement policies prompted European governments to warn their citizens traveling to the U.S. after several European tourists have been detained at U.S. ports of entry. Many foreign visitors and permanent residents are confused and scared that their cell phones will be searched, and they will be detained.
AFGE has partnered with other labor unions and allied organizations to form Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network.
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AFGE and other AFL-CIO and unions representing workers across private and public sector industries sued the Trump administration over its dismantling of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
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Week 13 saw Trump ignoring the Supreme Court’s order, intimidating lawmakers, threatening universities, and floating the idea of sending U.S. citizens to foreign prisons.
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