President Donald Trump has been allowed to fulfill a key campaign promise by scoring a major victory in his battle to drain the swamp.
Specifically, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 to allow enforcement of his executive order limiting union power over federal workers.
The decision overturns a lower court’s block that had prevented the administration from implementing crucial reforms to reduce bureaucratic waste and inefficiency within the federal government.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit determined that the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) failed to prove it would suffer irreparable harm from the president’s March executive order.
The ruling enables the administration to proceed with measures affecting about 75% of the 1 million federal workers currently represented by unions.
Judges Karen Henderson and Justin Walker wrote the court’s majority opinion, which systematically dismantles the union’s claims of potential harm.
Trump-appointed Judge Walker and George H.W. Bush-appointee Judge Henderson formed the majority against a Biden appointee’s dissent.
President Trump’s executive order strategically uses national security exemptions to free over a dozen major federal agencies, including the Departments of Justice, State, and Defense, from collective bargaining obligations.
This approach prioritizes national security and government efficiency over union interests that have long obstructed reforms.
The court wrote:
“The Government is likely to prevail in its appeal of the district court’s preliminary injunction. To obtain a preliminary injunction, a plaintiff must demonstrate that it will suffer irreparable harm while the case is pending. The National Treasury Employees Union failed to establish irreparable harm.”
The NTEU, representing about 160,000 federal employees, had filed a lawsuit claiming President Trump’s directive would harm its members by ending grievance procedures.
However, the court recognized the administration’s careful implementation plan, which delays any union decertification until all litigation concludes.
This fact completely undermined the union’s claims of immediate, irreparable harm. “The Union says it will suffer two irreparable harms. Neither qualifies,” the ruling states.
Federal employee unions have long been criticized for protecting underperforming workers and making it nearly impossible to remove ineffective bureaucrats.
President Trump’s executive order represents a significant step toward fulfilling his 2016 and 2020 campaign promises to reform government and cut wasteful spending.
The court also dismissed the union’s complaints about potential financial losses from reduced union dues.
It noted that such monetary damages could be recovered later if the union ultimately prevails in court.
While Judge J. Michelle Childs dissented, her objections to the administration’s national security claims found no traction with the majority.
The Trump administration is now positioned to continue its broader efforts to invalidate existing union contracts and restore management authority over federal operations.
