The bill to create a Department of Homeland Security out of a wide range of existing government agencies included an extraordinary grant of power to the president: the ability to wave union protections for employees of the new department. This provision of the new law was anathema to Progressives. They felt unions provided critical protections for public employees and saw no need to undermine them in the name of national security. Because Progressives opposed the bill itself, they also opposed the bill's "rule": the set of instructions for debate on the bill. If the rule is voted down, the bill is effectively rejected. However, Progressive opposition to the rule for the Homeland Security bill was not enough to kill it. The rule passed 237-177.