Unlawful and Baseless Order Would Jeopardize National Security 

Washington, D.C. – A federal court in Northern California has issued a preliminary injunction in AFGE v. Trump, blocking the implementation of a Trump executive order that seeks to stifle the voices of working people by preventing them from joining unions. 

An accomplished group of bipartisan national security and legal experts filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. The brief was submitted by Democracy Forward and Kwun Bhansali Lazarus LLP, on behalf of Charles Blanchard, previous General Counsel of the Air Force and the Army; John A. Beed, a three-time USAID Mission Director; Mara Rudman, Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Obama and Clinton administrations; Mary DeRosa, former Deputy Assistant and Deputy Counsel to the President, as well as as National Security Council Legal Adviser in the Obama administration; Suzanne Spaulding, the former Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security; Ambassador Gordon Gray (ret.); Circuit Judge Michael Luttig (ret.); and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. 

“The Trump-Vance administration’s union-busting efforts are not only bad for workers and unconstitutional, but they also threaten our safety by undermining our national security,” said Elena Goldstein, Legal Director at Democracy Forward. “We are honored to represent respected national security and legal experts on this brief and grateful that the court has recognized the importance of stopping this union-busting effort while this case proceeds.” 

On March 27, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order to end collective bargaining with federal employees at a series of federal agencies relating to defense and national security. The amicus submitted by the coalition explains why the President’s stated rationale for his union-busting executive order is baseless. 

“By ignoring the First Amendment and, more broadly, the rule of law, the executive order undermines national security,” reads the amicus brief. “America’s ‘commitment to democratic values and the rule of law’ has contributed to its long-held status as a leader on the world stage and its “exceptional position within the international legal system.”

Read the amicus brief here, the motion describing the amici here, and today’s preliminary injunction here. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.