Summary
Trump is nullifying federal employee union contracts negotiated in Biden’s final days.
Affected contracts include one with the Education Department ratified just before his inauguration. Trump cited a 2010 Supreme Court decision to justify his stance but did not provide a clear legal basis.
Federal employee unions, representing 800,000 workers, vowed legal action, calling Trump’s move unlawful intimidation.
This continues Trump’s prior efforts to weaken job protections, with additional plans to reclassify and lay off civil servants.
Trump, and the Republicans in general, seriously underestimate just how much stuff the US government actually does, and how much institutional knowledge is required to do it. A widespread federal worker strike would be disastrous for them, and trying to replace all of those people with lackeys would be even more disastrous, because none of them would have the slightest clue what they are doing. And yes, I’m well aware that the Republicans are trying to sabotage the government, but going about it this way would have the opposite effect; everything coming crashing to a halt overnight would drive home to voters, in a really big way, just how much it is that the government actually does for people.