PREVIEW

Ramaswamy and Musk Push to End Remote Work for Federal Employees. Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk are focusing on reducing telework among federal employees, with two-thirds of the 2.2 million workers still approved to work remotely 18 months after the pandemic’s end. Washington, D.C.’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, is urging federal workers to return to office buildings to address the high costs of maintaining unused office space and revive downtown vibrancy. Ramaswamy suggested requiring civil servants to return to the office five days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., predicting it could reduce federal bureaucracy by 25%. Jacqueline Simon, policy director for the American Federation of Government Employees, argued that many federal jobs, such as healthcare and corrections roles, cannot be performed remotely. A Government Accountability Office report found that the largest federal agencies used only 25% of their office space on average, with some agencies like the Education Department using as little as 16%. Simon emphasized that telework policies help attract skilled workers to federal positions, which often offer lower pay compared to private sector jobs. As of August, 98% of Education Department employees were eligible to work from home, making it a top target for Ramaswamy and Musk’s government efficiency initiative. The federal government began encouraging telework after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, with President George W. Bush promoting it as a way to maintain operations during emergencies. In 2023, President Joe Biden required federal workers to spend at least half of every two-week pay period in the office, aiming to balance remote work and office use. The number of federal employees eligible for telework has risen from 750,000 in 2004 to 1.3 million today, reflecting long-term growth in remote work policies.
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