Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump has issued a series of unlawful executive orders, and taken several unlawful actions, seeking to shut down congressionally mandated agencies, fire and displace federal workers, outlaw their unions, and gut merit systems protections. In response, AFGE and its allies have filed more than a dozen federal lawsuits challenging these actions. AFGE and its partners have secured multiple preliminary injunctions, reversing actions and stopping plans that would harm federal employees. While some of AFGE’s injunctions have been paused by higher courts, AFGE’s successes have resulted in potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs being saved.
AFGE’s efforts, as well as those of its partners and other organizations fighting for federal employees, have only been possible because of our members, leaders, and activists. Members not only help fund and fuel the litigation but provide essential information and stories that show the courts and the American people how egregious and unlawful this administration’s actions have been. Together, AFGE members have been fighting and will continue to fight, for all federal employees’ rights and for all Americans.
Stay connected: Follow these cases closely and sign up for AFGE action alerts for updates.
AFGE v. Trump, No. 3:25-cv-03070 (N.D. Cal.) | AFGE Press Release
On March 27, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14251, “Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs,” frivolously designating over a dozen federal agencies as performing “intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work” and stripping collective bargaining rights from over 950,000 federal employees. Affected agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Justice, among many others. On August 28, 2025, Trump extended the order to NASA, NOAA, the National Weather Service, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media. OPM later issued guidance directing covered agencies to cease participating in negotiated grievance procedures and terminate collective bargaining agreements.
AFGE and five other national unions—AFSCME, NAGE-SEIU, NFFE-IAM, NNU, and SEIU—sued on April 3, arguing the order constitutes First Amendment retaliation, viewpoint discrimination, ultra vires action exceeding the President’s narrow national-security exclusion authority under 5 U.S.C. § 7103(b)(1), and Fifth Amendment due process violations. Major case updates include:
In related litigation, less than two hours before the original order was signed, the administration preemptively sued several AFGE affiliates in Texas, seeking to have a Trump-appointed judge greenlight the union ban before it could be challenged. AFGE successfully obtained a dismissal of the Texas suit on July 23, 2025.
Current Status:
On February 26, 2026, the Ninth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction, ruling that AFGE had not demonstrated a likelihood of success on its retaliation claim on the current record. However, the panel unanimously confirmed that federal district courts have jurisdiction to hear this challenge—a precedent-setting victory that the government had vigorously contested. AFGE is considering seeking en banc review from the full Ninth Circuit while simultaneously returning to the district court to litigate the merits with a fully developed factual record.
AFGE v. Noem, No. 2:25-cv-00451 (W.D. Wash.) | AFGE Press Release
On February 27, 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded the 2024 CBA between AFGE and TSA—a seven-year contract covering approximately 47,000 Transportation Security Officers at over 400 airports—claiming collective bargaining was “incompatible” with TSA’s national security mission, despite the agency having held the opposite view for more than a decade. AFGE and allied unions sued, arguing First Amendment retaliation, Fifth Amendment due process violations, and APA violations.
Current Status:
The 2024 CBA remains in full force. The government has filed a renewed motion to dismiss and dissolve the PI that AFGE has opposed. A decision on that motion is pending.
AFGE NVAC v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, No. 1:25-cv-00583 (D.R.I.) | AFGE Press Release
On August 6, 2025, VA Secretary Doug Collins unilaterally terminated the Master CBA covering more than 300,000 VA employees. Collins exempted seven specific unions that had not challenged the administration, while stripping rights from AFGE, creating a two-tier system at the same VA facilities. This contradicted OPM’s own guidance instructing agencies not to terminate CBAs until litigation concluded.
AFGE’s NVAC and Local 2305 filed suit on November 4, 2025, arguing APA violations, First Amendment retaliation, Fifth Amendment due process and equal protection, and non-compliance with EO 14251 itself. NVAC filed for a preliminary injunction on November 25.
Current Status:
Judge Meliss Dubose granted NVAC’s motion for a preliminary injunction on March 13, 2026, ordering the VA to reinstate AFGE’s master agreement with the VA.
PEER v. Trump, No. 8:25-cv-00260 (D. Md.) | AFGE Press Release
On Inauguration Day, Trump signed Executive Order 14171, reviving “Schedule F” under the new name Schedule Policy/Career. The order directs OPM to reclassify tens of thousands of career employees in “policy-influencing” positions into an excepted-service category, making them at-will employees stripped of civil service protections, MSPB appeal rights, and due process..
On February 5–6, 2026, OPM finalized and published the Schedule Policy/Career rule in the Federal Register. The effective date is approximately March 8, 2026. AFGE joined the lead case in Maryland after voluntarily dismissing its original D.D.C. suit.
Current Status:
On March 4, 2026, AFGE, AFSCME, the AFL-CIO, PEER, and Democracy Forward filed a Second Amended Complaint in the PEER case, expanding the challenge to target the entire Schedule Policy/Career framework: the underlying executive order, OPM’s final rule, and the broader reclassification effort.
AFGE v. OMB, No. 3:25-cv-08302 (N.D. Cal.) | AFGE: State Dept. Firings Blocked
Shortly before the longest government shutdown in history, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed agencies to engage in mass RIFs based on the shutdown. Approximately 4,100 federal workers received RIF notices. Led by AFGE, eight unions sued, arguing the directives violated the Antideficiency Act, federal RIF procedures, and the APA.
Current Status:
The government’s appeal was dismissed by the Ninth Circuit on January 2, 2026. Further proceedings are pending.
AFGE v. Trump, No. 3:25-cv-03698 (N.D. Cal.)
AFGE led a coalition of unions and other plaintiffs challenging Executive Order 14210, which directed agencies to eliminate or consolidate programs and initiate large-scale RIFs. HHS planned to cut 10,000+ positions; DOE proposed 50%+ workforce cuts; CDC faced 93% cuts to some offices. By May, dozens of RIFs were planned at agencies across the government. While AFGE’s PI was eventually stayed by the Supreme Court, the block on RIFs from AFGE’s PI resulted in the administration rescinded or failing to proceed with RIFs.
Current Status:
A Ninth Circuit panel approved the district court’s discovery order requiring the government to produce each agency’s mass-layoff plans. AFGE filed a supplemental complaint on January 27, 2026, challenging FEMA staffing cuts as part of this case. The case is ongoing.
AFGE v. OPM, No. 3:25-cv-01780 (N.D. Cal.) | AFGE: Court Orders Reinstatement
OPM directed six agencies to mass-terminate probationary employees using standardized notices falsely claiming performance issues. Thousands received identical termination letters their supervisors had never written or approved. AFGE and a coalition of plaintiffs challenged OPM’s actions.
The TRO and PI resulted in the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who had been summarily fired. Many returned to their jobs and were not subsequently terminated.
Current Status:
The government has appealed the summary judgment ruling. Briefing on the appeal continues into 2026. The court’s order requiring OPM to issue corrective letters and revise termination notices remains in effect.
AFGE v. Ezell, No. 1:25-cv-10276 (D. Mass.)
AFGE challenged OPM’s mass “resign or be fired” deferred resignation program under the APA, arguing OPM should have issued regulations before implementing the offer.
Current Status:
On September 24, the district court dismissed the case. AFGE has appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. AFGE’s appellate brief was filed in early February 2026.
Widakuswara v. Lake, (D.D.C.) | AFGE: Judge Blocks VOA Gutting
Current Status:
On March 7, 2026, Judge Lamberth granted summary judgment, ruling that Lake’s tenure as acting CEO was unlawful and voiding her actions, including mass layoffs.
AFSCME & AFGE v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-03306 (D.D.C.)
On August 28, 2025, Trump added USAGM (VOA’s parent) to the national-security bargaining exclusions. USAGM terminated its CBAs with AFGE and other unions the next day.
Current Status:
Judge Paul Friedman granted a PI on November 14, 2025, finding the cancellation a “clearly retaliatory” First Amendment violation and ordering immediate reinstatement of the unions’ collective bargaining agreements. Further proceedings continue into 2026.
NCPL/AFGE v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, No. 3:25-cv-01907 (D. Conn.)
On September 25, 2025, BOP Director Marshall terminated the CBA covering more than 30,000 workers, admitting the termination was not about national security but because the union “slowed or prevented changes.” AFGE’s Council of Prison Locals (CPL-33) filed suit November 13, 2025.
Current Status:
CPL-33 filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on December 22. On February 13, 2026, BOP filed a motion to dismiss, or alternatively to transfer the case or stay it pending the Ninth Circuit’s decision in the collective bargaining EO appeal. Oral argument on CPL-33’s PI motion is scheduled for April 30, 2026,
AFGE v. OPM, No. 1:25-cv-13305 (D. Mass.)
AFGE and two other unions challenged the administration’s “Loyalty Question”—which appeared in more than 5,800 federal job listings—prompting applicants to write an essay on which Trump executive orders they support. AFGE argues First Amendment, Privacy Act, and APA violations.
Current Status:
On November 19, AFGE filed a PI motion to remove the Loyalty Question from all job listings. The administration challenged the request on December 3. A hearing on the PI was held in March of 2026. Litigation continues into 2026.
AFGE is a plaintiff in multiple cases challenging DOGE’s access to sensitive federal personnel and payment data, including: the Treasury system access case (D.D.C.); the OPM data breach class action (S.D.N.Y., where Judge Cote ordered OPM to halt disclosures to DOGE); and cases involving DOL, HHS, and other agencies.
Current Status:
Following OPM’s failure to produce a complete administrative record, AFGE is requesting further discovery. The government has opposed and moved to dismiss, arguing DOGE completed its work at OPM. All cases are pending further proceedings.
AFGE and the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) filed suit on February 6, 2025, challenging the illegal shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under Executive Order 14169. The administration placed thousands of USAID employees on administrative leave, canceled programs, and began absorbing USAID into the State Department without congressional authorization. The court initially granted a limited TRO reinstating overseas personnel, but on February 21 denied the PI request. On July 25, 2025, Judge Nichols dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the employment-related claims were channeled through the CSRA and FSA, and that the separation-of-powers and APA claims were inseparable from the underlying employment context. AFGE and AFSA appealed to the D.C. Circuit.
Current Status:
The appeal is pending before the D.C. Circuit. Oral argument is scheduled for April 23, 2026.
About 90 percent of Homeland Security’s 260,000 employees are working without pay due to the ongoing shutdown, including employees at the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
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AFGE and its National Veterans Affairs Council are calling on a federal court to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to comply with a judge’s order restoring AFGE’s master collective bargaining agreement with the VA and all subsidiary agreements.
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AFGE has developed detailed issue papers identifying our key legislative priorities this year.
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