March 27, 2025 — Timeline — Standing Record

Mar 27

Trump signs EO 14251 stripping collective bargaining rights from 40+ federal agencies on pretextual national security grounds

President Trump signed Executive Order 14251 on March 27, 2025, excluding more than 40 federal agencies and subdivisions from the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS), the law Congress enacted to protect most federal employees' right to collectively bargain. The order applied a sweeping "national security" rationale to agencies including the Department of Justice, FDA, CDC, and EPA — bodies with no plausible national security mission — stripping their workers of union rights through executive action rather than legislation. Affected unions including the NTEU, AFGE, and AFL-CIO filed legal challenges, and the EO became the legal authority for a cascade of agency-level de-recognition actions through August 2025.

Mar 27

Trump signs EO 14253 directing Smithsonian to eliminate content on Black history, women's history, and gender identity

President Trump signed Executive Order 14253, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," on March 27, 2025, directing the Vice President — through his seat on the Smithsonian Board of Regents — to remove content labeled "improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology" from Smithsonian museums, education centers, and the National Zoo. The order specifically named the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum as perpetuating "divisive, race-centered ideology." The EO also directed Cabinet members to work with Congress to defund Smithsonian programs that "divide Americans based on race" or acknowledge transgender identity, and ordered reinstatement of historical statues removed from federal property over the prior five years.

Mar 27

Trump signs EO 14250 suspending WilmerHale employees' security clearances, directing federal contractors to sever ties with firm

President Trump signed Executive Order 14250 on March 27, 2025, directing federal agencies to suspend the security clearances of all WilmerHale employees and instructing federal contractors to terminate their relationships with the firm. The order cited WilmerHale's prior association with Special Counsel Robert Mueller — a former WilmerHale partner — and the firm's DEI policies as justification. It was the third in a series of retaliatory executive orders targeting law firms whose attorneys had represented parties adverse to the president or participated in legal investigations of him.