13 Republicans defy GOP leadership, vote with Dems to advance repeal of Trump order on federal unions

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Thirteen House Republicans joined Democrats in advancing a bill to reverse President Donald Trump's executive order cracking down on federal worker unions on Wednesday evening.

The bill was led by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, who forced a vote on the measure via a mechanism called a discharge petition. It's designed to force a vote on legislation over the wishes of their leadership — provided it gets support from a majority of House lawmakers.

A motion to proceed with debate and a vote on the final bill passed the House in a 222 to 200 vote. All 209 voting Democrats voted with 13 Republicans to advance the bill, which is now headed for another House-wide procedural hurdle on Thursday.

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after speaking to troops via video from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

If it survives a House "rule vote," the final vote to pass the repeal will also take place Thursday.

The Republicans who voted to advance the legislation are Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Tom Kean, R-N.J., Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, Chris Smith, R-N.J., Pete Stauber, R-Minn., and Mike Turner, R-Ohio.

Five House Republicans had signed onto Golden's petition along with 213 Democrats — Fitzpatrick, Bresnahan, Bacon, Lawler, and LaLota.

Golden's bill is called the Protect America's Workforce Act and is aimed at repealing a March 2025 executive order by Trump. 

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, attends a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, July 17, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Trump's order blocked collective bargaining with unions at an array of federal agencies, including parts of the departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice and Energy.

It also affected workers at the departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Treasury, Health and Human Services (HHS), Interior and Agriculture.

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Successful discharge petitions are rare in the House, with most lawmakers in the majority party generally wary of being in open defiance of their party leaders.

But most of the Republicans who backed Golden's measure are expected to either face at least somewhat tough re-election bids or have districts located in blue states where bipartisanship is expected on certain key issues.

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Discharge petitions have also become a more frequent exercise in the House this year, with the GOP grappling with a razor-thin majority that currently only lets Republicans lose two votes on any party-line measure.

Republicans like Lawler, LaLota, Malliotakis, and others have also been supported by unions.

The legislation will now be debated in the House before a final vote. It must then be taken up and approved in the Senate and head to Trump's desk for his signature to be enacted.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]