A pair of Senate Republicans has joined Democrats in backing legislation to roll back former President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order on federal unions \u2014 but it remains uncertain whether the bill will ever reach the Senate floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The House recently passed its version of the measure, the American Workers Protection Act<\/em>, sponsored by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) The bill would undo Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While nearly two dozen House Republicans crossed the aisle to support the legislation, similar GOP backing in the Senate appears far less likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that she agreed with Golden that \u201ccollective bargaining, which is afforded to federal employees under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, should be restored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Murkowski also defended the protections, arguing that federal employees \u201cdeserved these protections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCollective 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,\u201d she told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n But broader Republican support in the upper chamber is doubtful \u2014 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.) \u2014 generally more open to pro-worker policies \u2014 signaled reservations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n