A federal appeals court has given temporary approval for President Trump to strip collective bargaining rights from employees at the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying the law grants the White House wide latitude.
The ruling Friday by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia puts on hold a lower court decision that had ruled Mr. Trump’s action illegal, saying courts have the power to review presidential determinations and that Mr. Trump’s reasoning fell short.
The appellate judges, in an unsigned order, said that decision was likely wrong because the law gives the president “broad authority” to decide when to exclude federal employees from collective bargaining for national security reasons.
They said the State Department secretary is a member of the National Security Council, and the department’s mission is focused on U.S. security, so the president’s national security decisions are controlling here.
“When a statutory delegation invokes the president’s discretion in exercising core Article II responsibilities, there is little for a court to review,” the three-judge circuit panel said.
The court issued a stay of a ruling by Judge Paul Friedman, a Clinton appointee. That means the employees can be stripped of their bargaining rights while the case proceeds in lower courts.
While the panel did have to address the substance of the arguments over presidential powers, its ruling is not the final word.
AFSA vowed to continue its fight.
“The court’s decision to stay our preliminary injunction is a blow — not just to AFSA, but to more than 50 years of work defending the rights of America’s career diplomats and upholding transparency and due process in government,” said Tom Yazdgerdi, AFSA’s president.
Mr. Trump’s March 27 executive order listed dozens of federal agencies and divisions that the president determined have a national security nexus and which he then excluded from collective bargaining.
They ranged from the Federal Communications Commission and the National Science Foundation to the Treasury, Justice and Veterans Affairs departments.
The State Department was at the top of the list.
Mr. Trump’s order has sparked several legal challenges, including the case before the appeals court, which was brought by the American Foreign Service Association.
AFSA had said the order was political retaliation against its members, who had objected to the president’s plans to cut USAID and some State Department activities as contrary to his policy.
As evidence, AFSA pointed to a fact sheet the White House released with the executive order saying federal unions had “declared war on President Trump’s agenda.”
“Protecting America’s national security is a core constitutional duty, and President Trump refuses to let union obstruction interfere with his efforts to protect Americans and our national interests,” the White House said.
Judge Friedman, in a hearing, said a president doesn’t have to explain his decision-making, but Mr. Trump did in this case, and it dented his argument. But he did not rule on that claim specifically.
The appeals court, in its brief order, also said it didn’t address that argument.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.