(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President-elect Donald Trump and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser are joining forces to demand federal workers return to in-person work, rather than continuing remote work, which became common following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Critics argue that federal workers should return to the office as virtual work was only necessary to lower the spread of the coronavirus.
Remote work has left several federal buildings in D.C., nearly empty, hurting the local economy while bureaucrats continue to earn salaries from the comfort of their homes.
The Biden-led Social Security Administration entered into an agreement with its union to allow federal workers to work from home until 2029.
Bowser met with Trump earlier this week to discuss common ground and potential collaboration for his second term in office. The mayor described the meeting as “great” and “forward-looking.”
“We shared the view there has to be a centralized telework policy,” Bowser said in a Saturday interview on MSNBC’s The Weekend.
“I don’t think it is serving well by having buildings that are sitting virtually empty,” she added. “We are going to be able to attract a great workforce [and] have the esprit de corps to help us do big things in our nation. I think we need to reestablish that in-person work culture.”
Bowser emphasized that D.C. relies on its 37,000 workers to be present in the office. “I don’t think that is too much to ask,” she added.
Stephen Miller, the incoming White House deputy chief of staff, echoed Bowser’s sentiments in an interview on Fox News’s Hannity on Friday.
“Donald Trump announced that federal workers are going back to the office because they work for you,” Miller said. “Those federal workers? You pay their salaries. They need to show up at an office. Donald Trump’s going to rip up those agreements that allow those workers to ‘work at home.’”
Incoming White House Deputy Chief of Staff @StephenM: "Donald Trump, he announced that federal workers are going to go back to the office because they work for YOU… you pay their salaries… he's also going to say that workers who betrayed the trust of the American people are… pic.twitter.com/F9oyoBTVrB
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 4, 2025
Earlier this week, Trump announced that federal workers who refuse to return to in-person work will be “dismissed.”
His comments were prompted by the Biden-led Social Security Administration and its union entering a deal that allowed several taxpayer-funded workers to continue working from home until 2029.
