A group of moderate Republicans has teamed up with House Democrats to force a vote on blocking President Donald Trump from stripping union rights from federal workers.
The bill from Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) would overturn Trump’s executive order nullifying collective bargaining agreements covering hundreds of thousands of workers — what Golden called “the single biggest act of union-busting in American history.”
Although Republicans control the chamber, a majority of House members — 218 — have signed onto a legislative maneuver known as a discharge petition to force the bill out of committee. Under House rules, the measure must come to a vote on the full House floor within seven legislative days.
It is the same maneuver Republicans and Democrats have used to thwart House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and advance a bill compelling the Justice Department to release files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The union legislation is unlikely to go anywhere in the GOP-controlled Senate, but its movement in the House is a sign that not all Republicans are on board with the president’s attacks on federal unions. Trump is trying to throw out union contracts as his administration has pushed an estimated 200,000 federal employees off the payroll through layoffs and early retirements.
