A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot eliminate union bargaining for thousands of federal workers.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James Donato sided with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other unions when he found that President Donald Trump's executive order axing union bargaining at federal agencies is likely illegal.

In a 29-page opinion, Donato noted that federal employees have been allowed to form unions and bargain collectively for more than 60 years. The six unions that sued "appear to have been deemed hostile to the President," he wrote, pointing out that Trump's order threatened to dismantle that "long-standing status quo."

The unions reportedly responded to Trump's order to end federal union contracts by filing a lawsuit in April, but the administration argued that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 — which gave government workers the right to unionize — "enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management."

Federal agencies were directed to end their collective bargaining agreements by a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

As per the judge's decision, 21 federal agencies were prohibited from following Trump's order until the outcome of the unions' lawsuit is determined at trial.

Despite the fact that the executive branch's judgment is "entitled to deference and significant weight" on matters of national security, Donato said that the courts do not defer to its interpretation of the First Amendment, regardless of whether those interests "are said to be at stake."

The judge's ruling was celebrated by the unions, with National Association of Government Employees President David Holway telling The Hill the decision was a "resounding rejection of the Trump administration's authoritarian tactics."

Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, called it "justice for the federal workers who were unfairly retaliated against and had their freedom to collectively bargain ripped away for standing up to illegal executive actions."

And AFGE National President Everett Kelley told the outlet that "President Trump revoked our members' union rights in retaliation for our advocacy on behalf of federal workers and the American people, and we are grateful that Judge Donato saw through his disingenuous 'national security' justification and has ordered the immediate restoration of their rights."

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