In December last year, Sen. Joni Ernst tweeted, “On its way out the door, the Biden admin is locking in telework for 42,000 @SocialSecurity bureaucrats until AFTER President Trump leaves office! Unacceptable!”
It wasn’t only Social Security bureaucrats; it’s across the board.
President Trump was vilified for ordering people back to work or be fired. The union fought the order. As it happens, under 50% have returned to the office. They had a month to return.
Small Business Administrator, Kelly Loeffler shows video of Federal Employees desks with nobody working and no work on the desk.
She says they will be required to come back into in-person work.
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) February 23, 2025
As leader of the DOGE, Elon Musk said any workers who have not returned to the office will be placed on leave.
Musk posted a message on X to exemplify the seriousness of the order.
“Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning,” Musk wrote.
“Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave.”
Musk was replying to a post from Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who said no government agencies occupied half of their workspaces.
Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning.
Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave. https://t.co/7XRj6W21eX
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
Last month, President Trump warned federal employees that they must return to prepandemic norms and return to their offices “or be terminated.”
Biden, or was it Obama, knew the employees weren’t doing their work, and Biden pushed for more of it to continue until after Trump left office. The administration did everything they could to sabotage the new administration.
The Administration Knew How Bad Telework Was in 2022
In June 2022, Patrick Hauf said that in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, a quarter of employees at the federal government’s top health agency failed to even check their emails as they worked remotely, according to internal documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
About 25% of HHS employees didn’t even log in to get email, work files, video conference calls, and more.
Then-HHS chief of staff Brian Harrison commissioned the report. The documents were leaked by a whistleblower to the Functional Government Initiative and reviewed by the Free Beacon.
Biden was looking for ways to make telework permanent without checking to see if it was working. He was simply doing what his union donors wanted.
When they started to come back to work, only 10% showed up.
When Biden pushed for permanent telework policies, the Office of Management and Budget implemented new guidance: “Every effort will be made to maximize the use of remote work during widespread community transmission.”
There is more at Free Beacon.
Fake Republican Lisa Murkowski feels differently.
If Elon Musk truly wants to understand what federal workers accomplished over the past week, he should get to know each department and agency, and learn about the jobs he’s trying to cut.
Our public servants work hard to ensure that our national security is protected; that…
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) February 23, 2025
This is what the President has to say:
Great President @realDonaldTrump
pic.twitter.com/k0PMS8eoRC— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
Indicates to me that the’Federal government’ is OVERSTAFFED 50%….
Have you people never figured out that Employee is Euphemism for Slave? They just Changed the Name when it became Politically Incorrect.
Defund the freeloaders!!
You got far Greater Problems! When I was a Kid, I knew a Local Gun Dealer who was Stealing Inventory from the US Army. Everything was for Sale! And, I mean Everything! And, the Army Mechanics told me “ever year” their Supervisors ordered all new tools ( Big FAT KICK BACK Contracts) and would throw all the existing tools in… Read more »
They can’t show up. Many have another full time job they have to actually attend. Others have moved to locations with lower cost of living while collecting the pay based on living in DC. It’s also likely many of the workers don’t actually exist, no-show, no-work positions are common in union shops. The money goes to the union bosses. Another… Read more »
Then why isn’t the federal work force 50% smaller? Talk is cheap. When is Trump/DOGE going to act? I’m starting to worry that they’re just drumming up anger so they can take over and redirect funds to Trump’s friends, family, and cronies in future spending bills. No indictments for the theft and fraud being revealed just means it’s a takeover… Read more »
The 50% who don’t show up should first be placed on unpaid leave. Give them 2 weeks of that, then fire them. Like the old joke goes (and it’s true for government workers),
“So, how many people work here in this facility?”
“Oh, on a good day, maybe about half”…