The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing the federal workforce, is cutting over half of its staff around the country, pinning the blame on President Trump and his executive actions.  

AFGE is expected to lay off more than 200 employees, going from 355 workers down to about 150, the union confirmed to the press on Friday. This lay off includes more than 100 workers within the union president’s office, as well as dozens in offices across the U.S. 

The union’s national representatives, support staff, organizers and others will be affected by cuts. 

The layoffs will deal a blow, but the union, which represents 820,000 federal and Washington, D.C., government workers, vowed that its fight for the rights of federal employees will not waver.  

“From Day 1 this Administration has sought to stamp out the voices of patriotic civil servants, and these attacks on their unions are no different,” the AFGE said in a statement. “The President’s elimination of elective membership dues and the resulting layoffs are a setback, but they are not the end of AFGE — not by a longshot.”  

The AFGE has filed several lawsuits, ranging from preventing the Department of Government Efficiency and its top adviser Elon Musk from accessing sensitive employee data, to barring the administration from firing probationary employees.  

The organization is part of the network of federal employee unions and advocacy groups that started a legal defense group, dubbed “Rise Up,” to offer counsel to thousands of recently fired government workers.  

In late March, Trump also penned an executive order to end union rights for workers at numerous federal government agencies. Since then, the departments have stopped workers from having their union dues automatically subtracted from their salary. 

The cuts were first reported by The Associated Press, and the story is still developing as it unfolds. 

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