Restrict federal collective bargaining

Project 2025 recommends reinstating Trump-era executive orders restricting aspects of federal collective bargaining. Executive Order 14251 excluded designated agencies and subdivisions from collective-bargaining requirements on national-security grounds.

Project 2025 said

All were revoked by the Biden Administration and should be reinstated by the next Administration, to include the immediate appointment of the FLRA General Counsel and reactivation of the Impasses Panel.

Chapter: 3 · Central Personnel Agencies: Managing the Bureaucracy
Author: Donald Devine; Dennis Dean Kirk; Paul Dans
Department: Federal personnel management
Printed page: 81–82
PDF page: 113–114
Last verified: August 16, 2026

Open Project 2025 — Chapter 3, printed page 81PDF viewer page 113

Corrected locator and verified against the canonical Heritage Foundation PDF: printed pages 81-82, PDF viewer pages 113-114.

Compared with

Government did

Match: Strong Alignment

Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs

The order excluded designated agencies and subdivisions from federal collective-bargaining requirements based on national-security determinations under 5 U.S.C. section 7103(b)(1).

Action type: Executive Order
Identifier: Executive Order 14251
Current status: Under Litigation
In effect: Yes
Last verified: August 16, 2026

Why this match

The order strongly aligns with the objective of restricting federal collective bargaining, but it uses national-security exclusions for named agencies rather than reinstating every earlier order verbatim.

How this can change

Reversibility: Moderate

Presidential Rescission

A future President may rescind or narrow the exclusions; Congress may amend the governing statute; agencies and the Federal Labor Relations Authority administer remaining rights; courts may review legal claims.

Authority: Congress · President · Agency · Courts

Litigation

American Federation of Government Employees v. Trump

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 25-4014

Current status: Preliminary injunction vacated; merits litigation may continue

On February 26, 2026, the Ninth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction after concluding that the unions had not shown likely success or serious questions on the First Amendment retaliation claim on the existing record.

Injunction scope: No preliminary injunction presently blocks Executive Order 14251 in this case.

Appeal: Ninth Circuit decision issued February 26, 2026

Show me the receipts

3 public source receipts

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