Civil Servants Coalition: Defending Democracy and Public Service
Civil Servants Challenge Congress to Rein in Trump’s Lawlessness in Budget Negotiations
In September 2025, current and former federal employees from more than 50 agencies united under the Civil Servants Coalition to demand that Congress pass a “fighting” continuing resolution—a budget bill that not only funds government operations, but also reins in executive overreach threatening U.S. democracy and public welfare.
Thousands of federal workers, many signing anonymously out of fear of retaliation, called on lawmakers to restore Congress’s constitutional authority and enact statutory protections to:
Defend healthcare, science, safety, and public health
Stop the lawless impoundment of congressionally appropriated funds
Protect the federal workforce needed to carry out our agency missions from unlawful purges, retaliation, and reorganizations
Protect civil liberties
The campaign’s open letter to Congress was followed by a press conference outside the Capitol in Washington, DC on September 29, where workers—joined by Members of Congress and allied organizations such as Stand Up for Science and Free DC—declared “Democracy Demands Courage.” Speakers described firsthand how political appointees have dismantled essential programs at NIH, FEMA, CFPB, FTC, and other agencies, and emphasized that the greater danger lies not in a short-term shutdown, but in the long-term erosion of democratic governance and destruction of public services that will occur if Congress does not step up and assert it’s power as a co-equal branch of government to rein in the executive overreach and lawlessness.
Together, these actions mark a historic moment of whistleblowing and civic courage from inside the federal government—civil servants risking their careers to defend Democracy and the public services that keep Americans healthy and safe.
Read our blogs about this effort on our blog.
Holding the Line During the Shutdown
The government entered a shutdown on October 1st. In contrast to March, Democrats in Congress are standing firm, refusing to let millions of Americans lose their health insurance and refusing to hand over another blank check to let the Trump administration continue to run roughshod over the constitution. Their courage reflects the same principle federal workers have been defending for months: that democracy and the health and well being of the American people are worth the fight.
We know the costs are real. Thousands of federal employees and contractors are now without pay, and the communities we serve—from veterans to families relying on food assistance—are feeling the strain. This is a painful sacrifice, and none of us take it lightly. But we also know the greater cost would come from surrendering to authoritarian control and allowing the dismantling of our public institutions to continue unchecked.
In this moment, solidarity matters more than ever. Our partners at 27 UNIHTED, along with allied groups and volunteers across the country, have come together to crowdsource mutual aid resources for affected workers and their families. These resources are being coordinated to help those bearing the brunt of the shutdown’s impact while we continue the fight for a government that serves the people. If you have any resources you’d like to share please fill out our google form.
On October 18th, 27 UNIHTED hosted a ‘No Kings’ NIH Vigil and Food Drive in partnership with WellFed, Indivisible Bethesda, the Maryland Stand up for Science Chapter, and the Science and Freedom Alliance. Members of Congress, NIH scientists, and patients who have benefitted from life-saving NIH research gave moving speeches. An estimated 650 people attended the event and 470 lbs of food were collected. 27 UNIHTED plans to continue running food drives at the weekly NIH Vigils, Saturday mornings at 10AM outside the Medical Center Metro/NIH Gateway Center.
