American Federation of Government Employees

Rule Changes

Lead plaintiff in lawsuit challenging USAID shutdown

Hours after taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order freezing all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days. Stop-work orders shuttered HIV clinics in Ivory Coast, refugee camps lost infrastructure support, and 3.8 million women lost access to contraceptive care.

Updated May 19

Rule Changes

Lead plaintiff and chief organizing force against Trump’s union exclusion orders

Donald Trump tried to rewrite federal labor law with a single March executive order, yanking collective bargaining rights from most of the civil service under a sweeping "national security" label. On December 11, the House — powered by a rare discharge petition and 20 Republican defections — voted 231–195 to tear that order up.

Updated May 15

Rule Changes

Opposing workforce reductions

For decades, roughly 1,250 Social Security field offices operated as independent mini-agencies, each staffed with employees who knew their local communities and state-specific rules. On March 7, 2026, the Social Security Administration replaced that model with two centralized systems that route beneficiaries to any available representative anywhere in the country. When a retiree in Maine calls about a claim, they may now speak with an employee in Arizona who has never handled that state's rules.

Updated Mar 7