Press Release
April 28, 2025
Reorganization and Massive Reductions in Force Across Federal Agencies Violate Core Constitutional Concepts of Separation of Powers
WASHINGTON – A coalition that includes nationwide labor organizations, vital non-profit groups, and local cities and counties in California, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and Washington all united today to challenge the Trump administration’s unlawful reorganization of the federal government underway without legislative authority. The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward, Altshuler Berzon LLP, Protect Democracy, the Public Rights Project, and State Democracy Defenders Fund.
The coalition includes the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and four AFGE locals; American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and SEIU Local 1000; Alliance for Retired Americans, American Geophysical Union; American Public Health Association; Center for Taxpayer Rights; Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks; Common Defense; Main Street Alliance; NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council); Northeast Organic Farming Association Inc.; VoteVets; Western Watersheds Project; City and County of San Francisco, California; County of Santa Clara, California; City of Chicago, Illinois; City of Baltimore, Maryland; Harris County, Texas; and King County, Washington. The case, AFGE v. Trump, was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
“Since taking office, Donald Trump has attempted to usurp the powers of Congress through his attacks on the federal government and its basic functions, which hundreds of millions of Americans rely on every day,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund. “The separation of powers was created by our nation’s Framers to prevent this very sort of unchecked power. The American people will not stand for these clearly illegal and unconstitutional efforts by this administration, which seek to upend the most basic tenets of our nation’s constitutional democracy.”
Statements from more of the plaintiffs and counsel in the case are HERE.
This is the largest and most significant challenge to Trump’s authority to remake the government without Congressional approval. The case seeks a court’s intervention to stop the implementation of the President’s unlawful Executive Order 14210 (Implementing the President’s ‘‘Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative), which violates the Constitution’s fundamental separation of powers principles. Federal agencies were required to submit for approval Agency Reductions in Force and Reorganization Plans on April 14. Although the President’s Executive Order seeks to radically reorganize and deconstruct federal agencies through massive reductions in force, the groups make clear in the filing that only Congress has the power to change the federal government in the ways the President has directed.
Read the complaint HERE.
State Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.