In a swift and forceful response, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration just one day after the president’s return to office. The legal action challenges a controversial executive order that reclassifies a broad swath of career federal employees, effectively stripping them of key job protections and making them easier to fire.
Trump’s Schedule F Revival Sparks Immediate Backlash
President Trump wasted no time implementing his agenda upon retaking the White House on Monday. Among his first actions was signing an executive order that reinstated the contentious “Schedule F“, a policy that allows the reclassification of tens of thousands of federal workers, shifting them from career positions to political appointments.
The NTEU, which represents employees across 37 government agencies and departments, swiftly denounced the move as a “dangerous step backward“. In a powerful rebuke, NTEU President Doreen Greenwald stated:
Yesterday’s Executive Order is a dangerous step backward to a political spoils system that Congress expressly rejected 142 years ago, which is why we are suing to have the order declared unlawful.
Doreen Greenwald, NTEU President
The union argues that the order wrongfully applies rules meant for political appointees to career civil servants, depriving them of due process rights promised upon hiring. It also accuses the administration of ignoring regulations set by the Office of Personnel Management.
Experts Predict Legal Battles at Every Stage
Trump’s aggressive use of executive authority is already facing scrutiny. Will Dobbs-Allsopp, policy director at the left-leaning Governing for Impact, emphasized the need to follow proper procedures:
You have to go through the process before you can undo a regulation.
Will Dobbs-Allsopp, Governing for Impact
His colleague Jordan Ascher anticipates legal challenges “at every step, from rescinding the rule to creating these lists of employees to actually firing people.” With 2.1 million civil service employees in the federal government, the stakes are undoubtedly high.
Unions Vow to Fight “Unacceptable” Attacks on Workers
The NTEU lawsuit is just the opening salvo in what promises to be a broader battle over federal worker rights. Other prominent labor unions have also condemned Trump’s executive order:
- AFSCME President Lee Saunders called putting job security “in the hands of billionaires and anti-union extremists” flatly “unacceptable“.
- AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler warned the order would harm fundamental services provided by federal workers, from veteran care to airline safety inspections.
As the Biden administration learned, unwinding Trump-era policies is often an arduous process. With unions marshaling their forces and experts predicting a flurry of lawsuits, this fight over the future of the civil service is likely just beginning. For the millions of dedicated public servants caught in the crossfire, the coming months will be a time of profound uncertainty as their careers and livelihoods hang in the balance.
