Andrea Hsu

It ended collective bargaining rights for most federal workers.

Since then, agencies including FEMA, the VA, and the Environmental Protection Agency have canceled their union contracts, ending agreements over policies such as telework, disciplinary procedures, and parental leave.

The House bill would vacate Trump's executive order, restoring those contracts and employees' rights to be represented by a union.

But it faces long odds in the Senate.

So far, only one Senate Republican has signed on as a co-sponsor.

The bill only got to the House floor thanks to some procedural wrangling that forced a vote.

Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

Good morning.

Yeah, well, the FTC is one of a couple dozen government agencies that share a similar structure.

You know, these are regulatory agencies, typically with three or more members representing both parties who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

And Congress dictated that the president can only fire members for cause for things like neglect of duty or malfeasance.

And Amit Agarwal was representing the fired FTC commissioner in court.

He argued this setup has a long history dating back to the beginning of the republic.

That's right.

They seem concerned that the separation of powers has gotten murky.

You know, it seems like everyone agreed that independent agencies like the FTC and many others are not purely executive in function.

Their board members and commissioners make rules and decide cases.

Their actions affect people and businesses all over the country.

And Solicitor General John Sauer, who was representing the Trump administration, argued that's why it's a problem that they're not accountable to the president.

Well, Layla, they took the opposite view of pretty much the same facts.