Politics

This provision has traditionally applied to certain employees at agencies such as the CIA, the FBI or the National Security Agency.

But Trump's order, signed late Thursday, is more far-reaching, and includes employees whose jobs touch on national defense, border security, foreign relations, energy security, pandemic preparedness, the economy, public safety and cybersecurity.

It notably excludes law enforcement. "Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain," the White House fact sheet states.

Unions are roundly condemning the move.

"This administration's latest executive order is union busting, pure and simple," said Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse at a veterans hospital in Augusta, Ga., who spoke in her capacity as chair of Veterans Affairs for National Nurses United.