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Trump Aims to Reestablish In-Person Work for Federal Employees, Top Advisor Reveals


Stephen Miller states that the president-elect will mandate federal workers to return to the office … or seek alternative employment.

In a recent interview, Stephen Miller, a key adviser to president-elect Donald Trump, announced that federal employees currently working from home will be required to return to their offices.

“Once Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20 and this new golden age of America begins, he will instruct federal workers, paid for by your viewers, to resume their office duties or find a different job,” Miller told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Thursday night.

Miller was appointed by Trump last month as his deputy chief of staff for policy, having previously served as a senior adviser during Trump’s administration.

During his interview, he cited a report from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), indicating that only 6 percent of federal employees are working in-person full-time, while roughly one-third of the federal workforce is fully remote.

According to Ernst’s report, released on Thursday, around “90 percent of federal employees telework,” in comparison to just 3 percent prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlighted that “not a single headquarters of a major agency in Washington is even half-full,” with an “average occupancy” rate of just 12 percent.

In a summary of the report issued by her office, Ernst expressed her belief that this trend has resulted in “service backlogs and delays,” as well as “unanswered phone calls and emails.”

Ernst also called for a reduction in the size of the federal government by allowing unnecessary leases to end and auctioning off unused office spaces, along with consolidating offices.

The senator emphasized in a statement the necessity for federal workers to “return to work,” arguing it is “taking place on the taxpayers’ dime, affecting veterans, seniors, small business owners, and Americans needing effective service from government agencies.”

This statement comes as tech billionaire Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, heads of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), met with lawmakers in Capitol Hill to restructure or simplify aspects of the federal government.

“We’re going to see significant changes around here in Washington,” remarked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to reporters, as Musk, carrying his young son, passed by into the meeting.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) expressed his desire to see Musk testify before the House Armed Services Committee regarding the “bloated defense budget.”

“I’d like Elon to suggest some cuts,” Khanna stated. “Let’s have him testify.”

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), representing federal workers, has opposed Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s proposals.
AFGE President Everett Kelley stated in a recent interview, “To consider sending federal employees out of D.C. to work in states ignores the fact that only 15 percent of federal employees are actually based in D.C. They are already spread out across the country.” He added, “I believe they need to better educate themselves about the work federal employees do and their locations.”

The Epoch Times reached out to AFGE for a comment on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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