Dozens of Lawsuits Against the Trump Administration Filed by Government Employee Unions, Left-Wing Activists, and Democratic Politicians
(full series)
General Challenges to DOGE | Does Bureaucracy Equal Democracy?
Don’t Quit … but Don’t Do Your Job Either! | Say “Bye, Bye” to DEI
Does Bureaucracy Equal Democracy?
State Democracy Defenders also represents Susan Tsui Grundmann, a Biden-appointed chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority who was fired by Trump. Her complaint demands reinstatement on the grounds that Congress stipulated termination may occur only “upon notice and hearing and only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Eisen is hanging his case on the alleged lack of notice, not the causes required for termination.
If Grundmann wins reinstatement, could the people who put the “E” in “DOGE” find some “inefficiency” and send her packing once again?
The battle to make federal bureaucracy synonymous with American democracy is being fought on many other fronts.
At least 11 other executive branch officials who were fired by the new executive are also suing to overturn their firings.
These include eight former inspectors general, a former member of the National Labor Relations Board, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, and a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The last two, as of this writing, have been reinstated, pending further legal maneuvers.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed to overturn “Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce,” an executive order signed by Trump right after he was inaugurated. The intent of the order is to modify the civil service rules for executive branch employees who are in a policymaking role, allowing a president greater freedom to remove them if they are found to be impeding the executive branch’s policies.
Examples of these cases include:
At this point in the narrative, it is reasonable to wonder if there are also separate advocacy groups for deceased federal employees, former spouses of federal employees, friends and pets of federal employees, and so forth.
Yet another case nicknamed National Treasury Employees Union [NTEU] v. Trump provides some evidence for this possibility. Co-plaintiffs include the National Federation of Federal Employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.
Filed on February 12, after the other NTEU case listed above, this one seeks to overturn several of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, including even the offering of buyouts to workers who retire early.
The complaint includes an unintentionally hilarious section titled “Loss of Bargaining Power,” which asserts American taxpayers need federal employees—even “nonessential” employees— because those workers support federal employee unions:
The Unions’ bargaining power will be diminished through their loss of bargaining unit employees and their loss of members as a result of the Executive actions described above.
. . .
Because the mass firing of nonessential, probationary, and other employees will substantially reduce the number of employees that NTEU represents, the union’s influence in negotiating agreements with other agencies or lobbying Congress for benefits that help federal employees will be diminished.
Another case, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Ezell, was filed specifically against the retirement buyout program. AFSCME is the co-plaintiff.
The much maligned “deferred resignation” offer includes eight months of full benefits and salary to federal employees who retire early and places no restrictions on them getting paid twice if they choose to begin a new career during the eight months.
It’s a lot of free money for anyone eligible to claim it and an odd thing to oppose for those claiming to represent the interests of workers. But opposition makes perfect sense if the objective is to protect the interests of the union bosses.
In the next installment, numerous lawsuits challenge the federal efforts to remove illegal aliens.
