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.
Trump has been in office for exactly three months this week, but his authoritarian-leaning regime has already caused so much damage and destruction. It’s increasingly clear that his efforts to overthrow existing systems of government, prosecute political enemies – perceived or real – ally himself with powerful business interests, consolidate power, and implement radical changes came straight out of the fascist playbook.
And Republican members of Congress are afraid to speak out for fear of Trump’s retaliation.
The only thing that can stop him from taking our country backward is us – the American people. That’s why millions across the country took to the streets earlier this month to express anger and opposition. Each of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Fight Oligarchy rallies has also drawn tens of thousands of attendees, reportedly upsetting Co-President Elon Musk. AFGE is proud to report that President Everett Kelley joined Sen. Sanders’ Fight Oligarchy tour in California on April 14 as a speaker.
Meanwhile, a new analysis by Yale University shows that Trump’s tariffs will cost the average American family $4,700 a year. They are facing an average effective tariff rate of 27%, the highest since 1903.
The Independent Federal Reserve also warned that Trump’s tariffs will result in “weaker growth, higher unemployment and faster inflation — all at the same time — the Fed is also facing a situation it hasn’t dealt with in about half a century.”
Here’s a quick recap of Trump’s attacks in his 13th week in office and how these actions hurt federal workers and the American people they serve:
April 18: Trump revived Schedule F to reclassify 50,000 federal workers and make them at-will employees. Schedule F, now known as Schedule Policy/Career, will usher in a spoils system in which workers are hired and fired based on politics. It will erode the government’s merit-based hiring system and undermine the professional civil service that Americans rely on.
April 17: Trump retaliated against AFGE and other unions that have challenged him in court by exempting smaller unions representing employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs from a directive stripping certain federal workers of collective bargaining rights.
April 17: International students have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration for suddenly revoking their visas or terminating their legal status without giving them due process. According to the Associated Press, more than 1,000 international students at 160 colleges and universities, such as Harvard, Stanford, and University of Maryland, have had their visas revoked or legal status terminated.
April 16: Trump defied a court order to restore the Associated Press’s full access to the White House, prompting the news service to ask a judge to intervene.
April 16: Trump shut down a State Department office that’s responsible for flagging misinformation and disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran.
April 16: Trump is gutting AmeriCorps, putting hundreds of employees on administrative leave and telling young volunteers that help respond to natural disasters to pack their bags and go home. Since 1999, AmeriCorps teams have served the American people on nearly 3,400 disaster projects, including Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Helene.
April 16: Trump plans to eliminate the IRS Direct File program developed during the Biden administration to help people file tax returns directly online for free. Users like this program because it makes it easier to file tax returns without having to use a commercial tax preparation company.
April 16: Minutes after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) extracted sensitive data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a user with a Russian IP address tried to log into the system, according to a whistleblower complaint.
April 16: Washington, D.C. Chief Judge James Boasberg said Trump officials could face criminal contempt charges for defying his March 15 order to turn around deportation flights full of hundreds of immigrants including alleged members of a Venezuelan gang who didn’t have a chance to challenge their removals.
April 16: AFGE partnered with other labor unions and allied organizations to form Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network connecting lawyers who can provide free, direct legal support to federal workers who have been fired or current workers who are concerned their workplace rights are being threatened by the Trump administration.
April 15: Trump is planning to severely cut or eliminate funding for several programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in addition to the planned layoffs, consolidation, and relocation.
April 15: Trump’s ‘America Alone’ policy alarmed investors here and abroad. Besides the stock market chaos, another casualty is the U.S. dollar, which has lost almost 10% of its value since Trump’s Inauguration Day.
April 15: Trump is considering closing nearly 30 embassies and consulates around the world.
April 15: A judge blocked the Trump administration from requiring government contractors and recipients to certify they are not operating any diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI). The preliminary injunction was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades that receives grants from the Department of Labor.
April 15: Trump punished Harvard University for rejecting his 10 demands by freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and a $60 million in contract to the university. He went on to rant about Harvard’s ideological leanings and threatened its tax-exempt status.
April 15: Trump exempted nearly 70 coal-fired power plants from federal requirements limiting air pollution from emissions of toxic chemicals such as lead, arsenic, and mercury. One of the power plants exempted is the Colstrip Generating Station in Montana, the nation’s most polluting power plant and the only one in the country that doesn’t have modern pollution controls. Under a new rule adopted by the Biden administration in 2023, the power plant would have been directed to install new equipment. The exemptions are part of Trump’s plans to roll back rules that protect public health and the environment.
April 14: In another outrageous move that will likely violate the Constitution, Trump said he was exploring ways to send U.S. citizens who have committed violent crimes to foreign prisons. He also floated the idea of sending to prisons overseas as a punishment people involved in the attacks of Tesla dealerships to protest the administration and Elon Musk.
April 14: Trump ignored the Supreme Court’s and lower court’s orders to bring back a Maryland man mistakenly deported and imprisoned in a notorious El Salvadorian prison.
April 14: 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 (FMCS), including firing mediators and staff, and closing field offices across the country. FMCS provides meditation, training, and facilitation to resolve disagreements between employers and unions. Dismantling FMCS is a direct attack on workers’ rights.
April 13: Trump eliminated an office in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that sets federal poverty levels used to determine eligibility for Medicaid, food assistance, childcare and others for 80 million people. This will hurt American families and kids.
Want to fight back?
In a major victory for AFGE and allies, a district court judge May 9 issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking President Trump’s unconstitutional reorganization of the federal government.
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House Republicans are pursuing at least $50 billion in cuts to Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) benefits to help pay for a $4.5 trillion package of tax cuts that would primarily benefit the rich and large corporations, a priority for President Trump.
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Week 16 saw Trump laying off thousands of workers at Interior and Labor and planning to let go 80,000 VA employees taking care of veterans.
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