Week 22 saw Trump illegally changing federal employees’ performance management rules, laying off nearly 100 employees at NARA, and shutting down the national LGBTQ+ suicide prevention hotline.
The U.S. in Trump’s 22 weeks in office is experiencing heightened concerns about political violence after a murder of Minnesota state lawmaker Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and a targeted shooting of another state lawmaker John Hoffman and his wife by a far-right extremist the week before.
Labor leaders and workers across the state remember Rep. Hortman as a dear friend of organized labor and a champion of key issues that matter most to working families.
AFGE President Everett Kelley said the American people must stand firm against the infiltration of violence into our political discourse.
“The survival of our democracy is precious to all of us and we will continue to lead with peace, love and determination,” he said.
The U.S. Capitol Police is reportedly offering 24-hour protection for lawmakers whose names appeared on the shooter’s hit list. Other lawmakers are asking House Speaker Mike Johnson to do more to protect members of Congress.
Here’s a quick recap of Trump’s attacks on America in his 22nd week in office, how these actions hurt federal workers and the American people they serve, and how We the People fight back:
June 19: Trump’s FY2026 budget for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would cut 10,000 safety inspections at workplaces nationwide. This would result in more injuries and represents a step toward eliminating the agency tasked with protecting workers.
June 18: Acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Andrea Lucas said at her confirmation hearing that even though transgender workers are protected under civil rights laws, her agency is not independent and must comply with Trump’s anti-DEI orders. That’s why she dropped their lawsuits.
June 17: In another illegal attempt to get federal workers to quit and replace them with Trump’s loyalists, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told agencies to rate fewer employees as high performers, swiftly remove employees by not having to follow progressive discipline, and reducing any performance improvement plan (PIP) to 30 days. The rules violate our contracts. We are evaluating the memorandum and will take appropriate actions to protect the rights of our members and all federal employees.
June 17: In another attack against the LGBTQ+ community, The Trump administration announced it was ending the national suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ+ youth. Everyone, except for LGBTQ+ callers, calling the 988 Lifeline will still have access to counselors.
June 17: Trump’s Big Retaliation Bill would increase the deficit by $2.8 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill would also increase inflation for several years and would peak in 2027.
June 17: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lost nearly 3,000 employees due to Trump’s reductions in force and anti-worker policies, causing chaos and loss of expertise at the very agency tasked with protecting public health. A CDC vaccine expert who has resigned over Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s anti-vaccine policy, warned that more Americans will die as a result of the secretary’s actions and vaccine misinformation.
June 16: A judge ruled that the Trump administration’s mass terminations of grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is illegal. Ordering the administration to reinstate some of them, the judge said the administration targeted grants for research focused on why certain groups of people including minorities, LGBTQ, and women are at risk of certain diseases.
June 16: Trump began laying off nearly 100 employees at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the second round of reduction in force after firing U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogun earlier this year.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has officially walked back its plan to lay off more than 80,000 employees as part of the Elon Musk-led “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) initiative.
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In a significant decision impacting the federal workforce, the Supreme Court lifted lower-court injunctions, enabling the current administration to proceed with its controversial plans for mass layoffs and restructuring of federal agencies.
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In a late-breaking development, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a temporary administrative stay of the preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Executive Order 14251.
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