New presidents can now tear up federal worker contracts at will

What it does

This bill allows a newly inaugurated President to unilaterally terminate or override provisions of federal employee collective bargaining agreements that conflict with presidential orders, executive orders, or memoranda. The President acts through agency heads and must notify the union representative of any termination or conflict determination. Incumbent Presidents (those already in office) cannot use this power.

Why we flagged it

The bill strips federal employees of collective bargaining protections by granting the President unilateral power to terminate or override contract provisions. This is functionally a deregulation of federal labor relations, not a management-efficiency measure.

What the text implies

• The 'incumbent President' carve-out in subsection (c) means only newly inaugurated Presidents can use this power — a sitting President cannot. This creates a one-time window of authority at the start of each administration, potentially incentivizing aggressive use immediately upon taking office.
• Subsection (b) allows the President to void CBA provisions that 'conflict' with any presidential action 'as determined by the President' — this grants the President unilateral authority to interpret what constitutes a conflict, with no independent review or union input.
• The bill does not require negotiation, arbitration, or any process before termination or override — it is purely unilateral executive action, eliminating the bilateral negotiation framework that has governed federal labor relations since the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.
• Federal employees have no remedy or appeal mechanism; the bill requires only written notice to the union after the fact. This removes any procedural protection or opportunity for challenge.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Federal employees lose enforceable contract rights and protections negotiated through collective bargaining, as the President can unilaterally terminate or override CBA provisions. This shifts power from workers and their unions to executive authority, reducing job security, compensation protections, and working conditions for roughly 2 million federal workers.

Named in the bill

President of the United States, Federal agencies, Federal employees, Exclusive representatives (unions), 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71 (Federal Service Labor-Management Relations), Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Mar 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”
• Mar 25, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Mar 25, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 23 - 21”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 7 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,020,426 in lobbying spend. A filing names 45 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Michael Cloud, the sponsor, reported $219,270 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Fed of Government Employees AFL-CIO — $840,426 on 2 filings
• National Treasury Employees Union — $690,000 on 2 filings
• National Right to Work Committee — $410,000 on 2 filings
• American Foreign Service Association — $80,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.