John,

On Thursday, federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to block the Trump administration’s attempt to take advantage of the government shutdown to fire federal workers who are already going without pay.^[1]

I’m the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents 800,000+ of the workers who deliver Social Security payments, keep planes in the air, take care of our veterans, and all the other essential work that our government does.

When Donald Trump and Office of Management of Budget Director Russ Vought threatened mass firings, I promised I would see them in court. They went through with their firing plans, and now they’re finding out what should have been obvious: It’s plainly unlawful.

The Trump administration is going to keep pushing to fire federal workers―so we’re going to keep fighting back. Can you split a donation with to the Federal Worker Defense Fund and Democracy for America Advocacy Fund today?

The Judge in this case didn’t leave much room for confusion about who was in the wrong here:

“The evidence suggests that the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management have taken advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning, to assume all bets are off, the laws don’t apply to them anymore.”

Here’s what’s happening: Trump and Vought are using the shutdown to keep carrying out the DOGE agenda they started in March. They’ve tried to defund my union by preventing our members from paying their dues the way they have for the past 80 years. They’ve fired or forced out tens of thousands of workers, endangering Americans in the process.

These are dedicated public servants who keep our nation running – protecting public health, supporting education, ensuring fair housing, and driving economic growth. We are pleased with this court’s ruling halting these unlawful terminations and preventing the administration from further targeting hardworking civil servants during the shutdown.

This administration knows that their actions are unlawful. The judge noted that the administration declined to even defend the legality of their position in court. But the point is to wear us out, sapping our resources by taking them to court again and again. But every time this administration attacks our union, we come back stronger, with more resolve.

We already know this ruling will be appealed. Can you chip in before we see them in court again?

I want to thank Democracy for America Advocacy Fund for the chance to get this message to you today.

In solidarity,

Everett Kelley
President
American Federation of Government Employees

^{[1] https://wapo.st/4ha3FHD}