Comer vows to bring federal employees back to work
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer delivered scathing remarks at the first hearing of the 119th Congress, criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of telework policies for federal employees.
The Trump administration is offering buyouts for all federal remote employees as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to get employees back into the office, but they only have until Feb. 6 to opt-in.
During Trump’s first week in office, he issued several directives to the federal workforce, including a requirement that remote employees must return to in-person work.
“After four years of incompetence and failure, President Donald Trump is committed to making our government efficient and productive again,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday. “American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers.
“If they don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of eight months,” she added.
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President Donald Trump after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, in Washington, D.C. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, a government-wide email was sent out to ensure all federal workers were on board with the Trump administration’s plan.
The email pointed to four pillars that Trump set forth, to bring accountability back to the federal government, including a return to in-person work, restored accountability for employees who have policy-making authority, restored accountability for senior executives, and a reformed federal hiring process based on merit.
“The government-wide email being sent today is to make sure that all federal workers are on board with the new administration’s plan to have federal employees in office and adhering to higher standards,” a senior administration official said. “We’re five years past COVID and just 6 percent of federal employees work full-time in office. That is unacceptable.”
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Signage outside the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The email noted that the majority of federal employees who have worked remotely since COVID will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week.
“Going forward, we also expect our physical offices to undergo meaningful consolidation and divestitures, potentially resulting in physical office relocations for a number of federal workers,” the email read.
For those who returned to office, the Trump administration thanked them for their “renewed focus” on serving the American people. But the future of their position could not be guaranteed, according to the email.
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The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
For those who do not want to continue in their role with the federal workforce, the Trump administration thanked them for their services, informing them they will be provided with a “dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.”
The program begins on Jan. 28 and will be available until Feb. 6, and should a federal employee choose to resign under the program, they will retain all pay and benefits, regardless of workload, and will be exempt from their in-person work requirements until Sep. 30, 2025.
The buyouts do not apply to military personnel of the armed forces, the U.S. Postal Services, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and any other positions specifically excluded by the agency the federal workers are employed by.
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“To be clear, as it was with President Trump’s executive order on Day One, implementation of return-to-work policies will be done by each individual agency in accordance with applicable law,” the senior administration official said. “We expect 5 to 10 percent of federal employees to quit, and it could lead to $100 billion annually in savings for federal taxpayers.”
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.
