Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, SENATE NEWS—Report details effects of Trump administration’s federal firings, (Aug 19, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The administration’s firings risk national security, the report states, with foreign adversaries targeting recently fired federal employees through LinkedIn and other online sources.

A report by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) details Trump administration actions to seize key Congressional powers, defy federal court orders, and retaliate against critics. The report argues that the administration’s “unprecedented actions across the federal government threaten the rule of law and constitutional protections.”

“This report clearly lays out President Trump’s lawlessness and campaign of intimidation as the Administration has taken unprecedented action to sidestep the Constitution,” said Peters. “While the Administration continues to press the bounds of its Executive authority, refusing to follow the laws Congress has passed, the Republican Majority in Congress has failed to hold the President accountable for these actions.”

Firings of federal employees. The administration has fired tens of thousands of federal employees, the report states, and some federal employees responsible for critical government services, such as ensuring food safety, monitoring the bird flu outbreak, securing nuclear weapons, and supporting foreign drug inspections, were fired and then subsequently rehired. Federal employees responsible for responding to the risks of Ebola outbreaks around the world were simply fired, and related federal funding was inadvertently frozen.

The administration’s actions have also increased national security risks, the report states. Naval Criminal Investigative Service reportedly assessed with “high confidence” that foreign adversaries are targeting recently fired federal employees through LinkedIn and other online sources. Further, firings of federal employees have hollowed out key national security and cybersecurity components and have stalled critical medical studies, putting the future scientific workforce at risk, with China bolstering its recruitment efforts and encouraging U.S. scientists to work in its government-run or -controlled labs.

Chilled oversight; defiance of court orders. The illegal firing of inspectors general has effectively eliminated the conventional means for independent and non-partisan oversight of the administration’s staffing decisions, the report argues. Additionally, the administration’s retaliatory actions against former federal officials and law firms creates a culture of fear that shields the administration from consequences. The Trump administration has defied federal court orders in numerous lawsuits. One analysis found that the administration has been accused of defying court orders in approximately one-third of cases filed against it, with courts ruling against the administration in nearly half of the lawsuits.

“The Constitution provides Congress with the means necessary to check an administration that is eroding the very principles and institutions that make America great,” the report states, “but only if the majority party in congress—currently the Republican party—is willing to act.”

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