The largest union representing federal workers has now filed 19 lawsuits against the Trump administration, waging a legal war that critics say amounts to bureaucratic resistance against an elected president’s authority to manage his own government.
The American Federation of Government Employees sued the White House’s Office of Personnel Management last month, targeting new rules governing how federal employees are evaluated, disciplined, and removed. That case marks just the latest battle in a sustained campaign that began shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025.
According to a July roundup posted on AFGE’s own website, the union had already filed 18 lawsuits against the administration before this newest challenge. The cases target everything from government-wide reorganizations to workforce reductions, collective bargaining restrictions, employee classification reforms, and changes to federal personnel rules.
The union isn’t fighting alone. Democracy Forward, a left-leaning legal advocacy organization, has represented AFGE and other plaintiffs in numerous cases challenging Trump policies. Broad coalitions involving advocacy groups and local governments have joined forces with labor unions across multiple lawsuits.
One case demonstrates the scale of opposition facing the administration. In April 2025, AFGE led a large coalition in suing to block Executive Order 14210, which established the Department of Government Efficiency and aimed to reduce the federal workforce. AFGE and its fellow plaintiffs argued the president lacks authority to reorganize, downsize, or transform federal agencies because they are “creatures of statute” created by Congress.
A federal judge rejected the administration’s motion to dismiss, and the case remains ongoing.
The coalition opposing that single executive order included the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees Industrial Union, the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, the Democrat-endorsing advocacy group Vote Vets, and other left-leaning organizations.
Critics argue these cases extend far beyond traditional labor litigation over wages, benefits, or workplace conditions. The lawsuits challenge the administration’s fundamental attempts to reorganize agencies, alter personnel systems, and change how the federal bureaucracy operates.
The question at the heart of these legal battles is straightforward: who controls the executive branch? The president, elected by the American people to lead it? Or career federal employees and their union allies who’ve made Washington their permanent home?
For everyday Americans watching from outside the Beltway, the answer might seem obvious. But in courtrooms across the country, that fight is far from settled.
