A pair of Senate Republicans has joined Democrats in backing legislation to roll back former President Donald Trump’s executive order on federal unions — but it remains uncertain whether the bill will ever reach the Senate floor.
The House recently passed its version of the measure, the American Workers Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) The bill would undo Trump’s March executive order that restricts collective bargaining for most federal unions across agencies such as the Departments of War, Justice, State, Energy, and Veterans Affairs.
While nearly two dozen House Republicans crossed the aisle to support the legislation, similar GOP backing in the Senate appears far less likely.
So far, only Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have signed on as co-sponsors of the Senate companion bill, originally introduced in September by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)
Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that she agreed with Golden that “collective bargaining, which is afforded to federal employees under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, should be restored.”
Murkowski also defended the protections, arguing that federal employees “deserved these protections.”
“Collective bargaining rights and workplace protections have lifted up federal employees across the United States for decades, protecting them from unsafe working conditions and political retribution,” she told Fox News Digital.
But broader Republican support in the upper chamber is doubtful — in part because the bill sits in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) a longtime advocate of right-to-work legislation. Even Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) — generally more open to pro-worker policies — signaled reservations.
“I don’t know,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “The public sector unions and private sector unions seem to be two different things.”
The House passed the bill 231–195, with all “no” votes coming from Republicans. Its advancement was made possible only after Golden filed a discharge petition, a procedural tool that forces a vote if a majority of House members sign on — even over leadership’s objections. No similar mechanism exists in the Senate.
Senators could still attempt to force a floor vote, but that would require Republican consent — something that appears unlikely at the moment. Still, a source close to Golden told Fox News Digital that he is actively talking with senators to build support for such a move.
Golden said Friday that both he and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) have begun outreach to Senate offices.
He confirmed he had already spoken with “a few” senators after the House vote but added, “the real push is gonna be coming in the days and weeks ahead.”
Warner, who is leading the Senate effort, argued that the GOP defections in the House show the executive order went too far.
“Republicans and Democrats alike are recognizing that you can’t run a functioning government by attacking the very workforce that keeps Americans safe,” Warner said. “The bipartisan momentum in the House only strengthens our hand in the Senate, and I intend to build on it.”
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
So, these Representatives think it is just fine for federal employees to unionize, so that the Dims can promise whatever the unions want in return for the federal employees’ vote? No government employee should be allowed to unionize in any fashion, be it local, state, or federal. They are paid from taxes, and there is no question that they are not overworked.
Hits the nail.
We just had probably the longest government shut down in history because the legislators kept kicking the budget can down the road instead of doing their jobs and the taxpayers suffered while these legislators continued to collect their fat checks. Just what we need is for tens of thousands of government employees going on strike and paralyzing our nation. If you want to join a union, stick to the private sector.
Of course it would Collins and Murkowski, the Thelma and Louise of the GOP!
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These are federal employees, not private sector business staff, who are paid, perked, and supported in every way by the tax dollars from the electorate! Trump is the present CEO of this “business” and has every right to curtail the union extortion that lives, breathes, and sucks teat on our nickel! There should be NO UNIONS in any civil service organization; none, NADA, not any! Civil servants are chartered to serve the electorate and not themselves (as though they are members of a country club)!