In a rare and dramatic rebuke of a sitting president, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on December 12, 2025, to restore collective bargaining rights to approximately one million federal workers, overturning executive orders issued by President Donald Trump earlier this year. The Protect America’s Workforce Act passed by a 231 to 195 margin, with 20 Republicans joining all House Democrats in supporting the measure. This bipartisan vote marks one of the most significant congressional pushbacks against the Trump administration’s labor policies during his second term, according to reports from Truthout and The Associated Press.
The legislation directly nullifies Trump’s executive orders from March and August 2025, which had stripped workers at dozens of federal agencies—especially those with national security functions—of their collective bargaining rights. Trump argued that he possessed the authority to revoke these rights under a 1978 law, a claim that sparked immediate legal challenges from affected unions and drew condemnation from labor advocates nationwide. The orders impacted roughly 600,000 out of 800,000 federal workers represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), including employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.
Labor groups swiftly denounced the executive actions as the largest single act of union busting in U.S. history, a sentiment echoed by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. In a statement following the House vote, Shuler declared, “President Trump betrayed workers when he tried to rip away our collective bargaining rights. In these increasingly polarized times, working people delivered a rare bipartisan majority to stop the administration’s unprecedented attacks on our freedoms.” She added, “Americans trust unions more than either political party. As we turn to the Senate—where the bill already has bipartisan support—working people are calling on the politicians we elected to stand with us, even if it means standing up to the union-busting boss in the White House.”
The legislative victory for labor was made possible by a discharge petition—a parliamentary maneuver that bypasses traditional House leadership channels. The petition, led by Democratic Representative Jared Golden of Maine, gathered more than the required 218 signatures, forcing the bill onto the House floor. This tactic has been used with increasing frequency in the current Congress, as frustration with GOP leadership has grown, according to The Associated Press. In fact, the discharge petition method was also recently employed to push for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, highlighting a broader trend of bipartisan collaboration in the face of partisan gridlock.
On the House floor, GOP Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, a co-sponsor of the bill, emphasized the stakes: “Reinstating these rights is not a concession—it is a commitment. A commitment to treat federal workers with dignity, to reinforce a resilient public service, and to honor the commitment of the men and women who show up for the American people every single day.” New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler echoed this sentiment, stating, “Every American deserves a voice in the workplace, and that includes the people who keep our government running and open.”
Notably, many of the 20 Republicans who broke ranks with the president to support the bill are facing tough reelection battles in 2026. Some, like New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew—who switched parties during Trump’s first term—insisted their votes were driven by local concerns rather than a desire to send a message to the White House. “No message here at all,” Van Drew told reporters. “This is a New Jersey message. I got to take care of my people. And I’ve always been supportive of unions.”
All House Democrats who participated in the vote supported the measure, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. On the floor prior to passage, Jeffries argued that the bill would help “public servants who have been targeted viciously by the Trump administration from the very beginning of his time in office.” The AFGE, the largest federal employee union, expressed “deep appreciation to every member of Congress who voted for the bill.” AFGE President Everett Kelley called the vote a “seismic victory.”
The bill’s passage comes at a time when labor union approval in the United States has reached highs not seen in decades, hovering around 70 percent. This resurgence in support for organized labor has been fueled by a wave of high-profile unionization efforts, strikes, and a growing recognition of workers’ rights in both public and private sectors. According to Truthout, public sector workers are unionized at a far higher rate than those in the private sector, making Trump’s orders particularly consequential for the nation’s labor movement.
Despite the House victory, the fate of the Protect America’s Workforce Act remains uncertain in the Senate, where it faces a steep 60-vote threshold for passage. A companion bill in the upper chamber has attracted 48 cosponsors, including just one Republican: Senator Susan Collins of Maine. With the Senate still under Republican control, the bill’s prospects are described as “unlikely” by several observers, although labor advocates are optimistic that continued bipartisan support could sway the outcome.
Meanwhile, legal battles over Trump’s executive orders continue to play out in the courts. The AFGE has challenged the orders as illegal and retaliatory, but in May 2025, a federal appeals court allowed the administration to proceed with implementing the changes while the lawsuit is ongoing. This judicial green light paved the way for Trump’s August follow-up order, which stripped even more federal workers of their union rights.
The broader context of this legislative fight is a period of heightened polarization and institutional strain in Washington. As Truthout notes, 2025 has been marked by what many see as an assault on press freedom, increasing corporate consolidation in the news industry, and deteriorating financial conditions for progressive organizations. The battle over federal workers’ rights is seen by many as emblematic of the larger struggle between labor advocates and an administration determined to reshape the federal workforce.
For now, the House’s passage of the Protect America’s Workforce Act stands as a testament to the enduring power of bipartisan cooperation—even in the most divisive of times. The coming weeks will reveal whether the Senate is prepared to follow suit and restore collective bargaining rights to the nation’s federal employees, or if the fight will continue in the courts and on the campaign trail into 2026.
