A coalition that includes nationwide labor organizations, vital non-profit groups, and local cities and counties in California, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and Washington all united today to challenge the Trump administration’s unlawful reorganization of the federal government underway without legislative authority. Read the press release here.
Plaintiff and Counsel Statements
Unions
American Federation of Government Employees
“The Trump administration’s reckless attempt to dismantle our government without congressional approval threatens vital services Americans depend on every day — from caring for veterans and safeguarding public health, to protecting our environment and maintaining national security,” said American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley. “This illegal power grab would gut federal agencies, disrupt communities nationwide, and put critical public services at risk. AFGE is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this coalition to protect not just the patriotic public servants we represent, but the integrity of American government and the essential services that our nation deserves.”
American Federation of State County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
“We are filing this lawsuit to challenge the hostile takeover of government by billionaires and anti-union extremists. From the mass firings of federal employees to effectively shutting down agencies formed by Congress, this White House has repeatedly broken the law and violated the Constitution to advance their extremist Project 2025 agenda,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “Working people deserve to know the public services they depend on will be delivered – that their food will be safe to eat and drinking water clean, that kids in school will have the resources they need to thrive and that our communities will be able to fight public health epidemics. All these things and more are at stake if this power grab goes unchecked.”
Service Employees International Union
“SEIU is proud to stand with our union siblings, local and state governments, and partners in the democracy movement to stop the reckless and politically motivated purges of dedicated civil servants by this administration,” said April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). “Federal workers, including SEIU members who are doctors and nurses in our VA health system, provide an essential service to our nation and our communities. The gross overreach of this administration will not stand. Even as we fight to restore these vital federal jobs, we are mobilizing to protect Medicaid, protect our public schools and create an America in which every worker can join a union.”
Non-Profit Organizations
Alliance for Retired Americans
“Social Security is a sacred trust between the American people and the government,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “Seniors have a right to the guaranteed benefits they have earned as well as to a fully staffed, well-functioning Social Security Administration to administer those benefits in a timely and secure manner.”
American Geophysical Union
“This Executive Order is demanding layoffs on such a massive scale that they will have drastic, cascading effects on our members, the global scientific community, and the public,” said Janice R. Lachance, Interim Executive Director and CEO of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). “From forecasting severe weather and ensuring healthy crops to preventing uncontrollable wildfires and preparing communities for sea level rise, fully functioning federal scientific agencies are critical. AGU is proud to partner with this coalition to take a stand for our federal workforce against this illegal action.”
American Public Health Association
“The Trump administration’s actions are unlawful and diametrically opposed to its stated goal to Make America Healthy Again. The haphazard reorganization of HHS and massive indiscriminate staff reductions at key health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration, is already putting people’s health at risk and undermining current efforts to address health threats,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. “We’re challenging this reorganization and mass-firings, which harm our members, other public health workers around the country and ultimately communities across the nation. We need to expand resources to support public health, not fire the people and gut the systems working to protect all of us.”
Center for Taxpayer Rights
“The IRS is not only the Accounts Receivable function of the federal government but also a major disbursor of economic incentives and benefits to small and large businesses and individuals at all income levels. Cuts of the magnitude proposed and occurring put at risk both the public fisc and the economic welfare of the American public,” said Nina Olson, Executive Director, Center for Taxpayer Rights.
Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks
“The actions taken by this Administration to gut the federal workforce are making an already dire situation at many national parks and program offices far worse,” said Phil Francis, Chair of the Executive Council of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. “With the busy summer season about to begin, the Administration is trying to assure the public that despite their cuts to staff, national parks will be open and operating as usual. Let’s be clear, that is just spin and it could not be further from the truth. The people who have been removed by this Administration help to ensure our parks are safe and accessible, and our irreplaceable resources are protected for future generations. Additional mass firings mean safety at parks could be compromised and visitors should expect longer lines, reduced hours of operation at facilities, trails that are not maintained, limited access to some park amenities, and far fewer park rangers to help ensure they have a safe and memorable visit to their national parks.”
Common Defense
“As veterans, we swore an oath to defend the Constitution, and that duty doesn’t end with our service. The Trump administration’s Executive Order 14210 is a blatant overreach, trampling the separation of powers that keeps our democracy strong. It threatens the vital federal services—VA benefits, healthcare, environmental protections—that we fought for and that communities nationwide rely on. Veterans are proud to stand with this coalition, representing people from all walks of life, to demand the courts halt this unlawful power grab. Congress, not the President, holds the authority to reshape our government. Anything less undermines the very freedoms we served to protect,” said Jose Vasquez, Army veteran and Executive Director of CommonDefense.us.
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
“The Trump Administration has repeatedly tried to exercise power it simply does not have. Enough, already—Americans did not vote for a power grab, nor did they vote for a federal government so hollowed out it cannot deliver the services we all rely on,” said Michael Wall, Chief Litigation Officer, NRDC.
Northeast Organic Farming Association
“Farmers rely on USDA staff at the Farm Service (FS) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for technical service and contractual funding. They are being exponentially harmed by staffing cuts and USDA freezes,” said Laura Davis, President, Northeast Organic Farming Association Inc.
Vote Vets
“Many veterans rely on federal employment for stability, and these cuts disrupted their livelihoods,” said Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton, Chairman of VoteVets Action Fund. “In addition, the termination of tens of thousands of probationary federal employees has had an adverse impact on the services provided to veterans, leading to staffing shortages, diminished support for critical programs, and increased uncertainty for veterans and their families.”
Western Watersheds Project
“The Trump administration is weaponizing personnel decisions to sabotage and dismantle the federal agencies responsible for protecting public lands,” said Erik Molvar, Executive Director of Western Watersheds Project. “The twin objectives of the administration are to deregulate public lands and turn them over to pro-industry state governments, as revealed by the leaked draft of Interior’s Strategic Plan. We’re challenging this latest round of mass-firings to ensure that agencies have the personnel needed to prevent the destruction of healthy ecosystems on public lands.”
Local Governments
City of Baltimore, Maryland
“In the last 100 days, the Trump administration has turned the federal government on its head, and Baltimore residents are paying the price. Our city is home to thousands of public servants who fear for their jobs—not to mention all of the health care workers, community violence prevention organizations, and others whose work is threatened by the administration’s haphazard cuts,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “Let’s be very clear. The American people did not vote for this. The Congressional representatives they elected did not vote for this—and that makes it not just wrong, but unconstitutional. We are proud to stand with our partners across labor, nonprofits, and municipalities to challenge these unlawful cuts.”
City and County of San Francisco, California
“President Trump’s complete disregard for the rule of law has incredibly harmful impacts on local communities,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. “The President cannot radically restructure federal agencies through massive layoffs with a mere signature on an executive order. Only Congress has the power to reorganize federal agencies as Trump wishes. The Constitution’s separation of powers was intended to prevent the abuse of presidential authority, yet here Trump is ignoring checks and balances and trying to act as both President and Congress. San Francisco joins this coalition to stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law.”
City of Chicago, Illinois
“The City of Chicago is proud to take this stand with cities, counties, labor unions and professionals from across the country,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. “The Trump Administration’s plan to gut the federal government threaten all of our communities and way of life. In Chicago, planned cuts to the federal workforce and services will significantly impact our ability to keep people safe and healthy. It is our duty as leaders and as everyday Americans to come together to decisively and strongly call out the unconstitutional dismantling of our government.”
County of Santa Clara, California
“The Trump Administration’s unconstitutional actions are directly impacting millions of public employees, state and local governments, and all those who rely on government services,” said Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti. “These actions make it harder for local governments to respond to emergencies, reduce resources to combat homelessness, eliminate public health programs that help prevent the spread of disease, and undermine vital collaboration between local and federal government in dozens of other operational areas. The County is proud to work with this diverse and expansive group of partners to put a stop to the Trump Administration’s attempt to bypass Congress to radically reorganize and deconstruct federal agencies.”
Harris County, Texas
“The Trump administration’s reckless plan would gut the federal government and leave communities like ours to pick up the pieces. From Social Security offices to disaster response to keeping our air and water clean, the services and protection people rely on every day are under attack. Harris County isn’t standing by while Washington plays games with our future — we’re joining our partners from across the country in taking this fight to court to advocate for our residents and hold the line,” said Christian D. Menefee, Harris County Attorney.
King County, Washington
“King County is proud to join this coalition of labor unions, non-profit organizations, and local governments to push back against the unprecedented and unconstitutional dismantling of the federal government and mass firing of federal employees without Congressional authorization,” said King County Executive Shannon Braddock. “Local jurisdictions like King County rely on their federal counterparts and critical programming to effectively deliver services to our residents, and we will continue to stand up against these unlawful actions.”
Legal Representation
Democracy Forward
“The non-partisan federal workforce – which works for all Americans – has been at the mercy of the lawlessness of the Trump-Musk agenda for nearly 100 days. The impact of the reckless decisions that have been made in an attempt to unlawfully reorganize the federal government without Congress and is being felt in communities across our nation, in red states and blue states. The size and breadth of the coalition behind this case demonstrates the wide-ranging implications of the President’s unlawful behavior. Democracy Forward is incredibly honored to work with so many groups and local governments to defend people and our democracy,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, which serves as co-lead counsel on the case.
Altshuler Berzon LLP
“The President does not have the legal authority to dismantle the federal government,” said Danielle Leonard from Altshuler Berzon LLP, which serves as co-lead counsel on the case. “It is a privilege to represent this coalition of labor, local government, and nonprofit organizations together for core constitutional principles and seeking to prevent the terrible harms that are being imposed by the President’s unlawful action.”
Protect Democracy
“Our Constitution simply does not give a single person the power to take a wrecking ball to our critical government institutions. American society has been healthier, safer, cleaner, and more prosperous because of the critical services that federal civil servants provide, and real people are being hurt by the Trump Administration’s attempts to destroy those programs.” said Jules Torti, Counsel at Protect Democracy. “Our system of separation of powers is meant to check these sorts of wild abuses. Protect Democracy is proud to be part of a coalition dedicated to ensuring the protection of a functioning democracy.”
Public Rights Project
“Unlawfully firing public servants at this scale will hurt communities across the country,” said Jill Habig, Founder and CEO of Public Rights Project. “This is a dangerous power grab that decimates the ability of federal agencies to fulfill their obligations and disrupts the ability of local governments to deliver critical services. We’re proud to stand up with so many cities, counties, and organizations in saying no to another brazen attempt to deprive people of their safety and rights.”
State Democracy Defenders
“Since taking office, Donald Trump has attempted to usurp the powers of Congress through his attacks on the federal government and its basic functions, which hundreds of millions of Americans rely on every day,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund. “The separation of powers was created by our nation’s Framers to prevent this very sort of unchecked power. The American people will not stand for these clearly illegal and unconstitutional efforts by this administration, which seek to upend the most basic tenets of our nation’s constitutional democracy.”