Federal judge blocks Trump order dismantling public-sector unions

• It's the latest of several court setbacks for the White House just this week.

The big picture: The order from late March would effectively dismantle the unions that represent federal employees, who use collective bargaining to negotiate for better benefits and fair treatment.

• These unions have also been at the forefront of the fight against the White House effort to dismantle the federal workforce.

Zoom in: U.S. district judge Paul Friedman, a Clinton appointee, also ruled that the guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directing agencies to stop automatically deducting union fees from worker paychecks was unlawful.

• A spokesperson from OPM said the agency has no comment at this time.

What to watch: "An opinion explaining the Court's reasoning will be issued within the next few days," Friedman wrote.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with government reaction.