A federal judge just halted one of the most important reform efforts in decades aimed at restoring accountability and efficiency in our bloated federal workforce. By blocking the Trump administration’s executive order that aimed to streamline agency operations and remove obstructive union influence, Judge James Donato prioritized entrenched union power over the American taxpayer, and over the basic principle that elected officials, not unelected judges, should govern.

 

This ruling is not a triumph for “justice” or “fairness,” as union leaders would like you to believe. It is a massive setback for reformers trying to restore integrity to government operations, and a clear signal that federal employee unions will stop at nothing to preserve their privilege, even if it means tying the hands of agency leadership and protecting underperformance.

 

For decades, these unions have operated with near-total impunity, weaponizing collective bargaining not to protect workers, but to entrench power, block management decisions, and shield poor performers from consequences. The executive order rightly aimed to eliminate these self-serving contracts in agencies where national security and public accountability must come first. It was a step toward restoring the original intent of civil service: serving the public, not union bosses.

 

Yet Judge Donato’s opinion reflects an unfortunate willingness to conflate legal precedent with political judgment. His assertion that the unions were “deemed hostile to the President” is not a legal argument. It’s an editorial. The Constitution gives the executive branch authority over the administration of the federal workforce, and where national security is involved, that deference should be near absolute. Instead, the court second-guessed that judgment and granted unions a reprieve based on politics disguised as constitutional concern.

 

It’s ironic that those who scream about “authoritarianism” are the same ones demanding that public unions, funded by taxpayers, be allowed to obstruct the very reforms necessary to make government work better. These unions are not neutral defenders of worker rights. They are political machines, often aligned with one party, leveraging taxpayer-funded dues to push partisan agendas.

 

Federal employees have the right to fair treatment, and so do the American people. 

That’s why Americans for Fair Treatment stepped into the legal battle over unionization at the Transportation Security Administration. We know the stakes are high, but we also know we are right on the facts, on the law, and on principle. We are standing up for tens of thousands of TSA screeners who deserve a workplace built on merit, safety, and accountability, not politics or backroom deals.

 

So, let’s not forget: the Trump administration’s executive order was a hard but necessary correction. Federal agencies must be able to manage their employees without navigating an endless maze of union obstruction. We support the administration’s commitment to appeal this decision and reinstate commonsense limits on union overreach.

 

Judge Donato may believe he’s protecting workers. But in reality, he’s protecting the very system that too often fails them.