How Trump's Department of Government Efficiency Promotes Streamlining
President-elect Trump's Department of Government Efficiency is expected to push to end telework across the federal government.
According to CNN on November 21, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump - a non-governmental organization co-led by billionaire Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is expected to push to end remote work across federal agencies as a way to streamline human resources.
Both Musk and Ramaswamy have recently publicly complained about the number of employees working remotely across the government.
A source familiar with early discussions about DOGE's focus told CNN that, while nothing is final, initial priorities include efforts to immediately end remote work across federal agencies, requiring all federal employees to work five days a week.
“It’s an easy step and many companies are already doing it. So why shouldn’t federal employees who are paid by taxpayers be required to come to work?” the source said.
Many opinions say that with this plan, along with moving government agencies out of Washington DC, many federal employees will voluntarily leave, helping the new administration of President-elect Trump to streamline and save money for the government.
Ending government-wide remote work is being considered as a “bright proposal” for executive orders that DOGE members will propose to Mr Trump, the source said.
“It’s definitely on the table,” the source said, though it’s unclear how much they believe this would save the federal government.
In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on November 20, Elon and Ramaswamy outlined plans to reform government and aim to eliminate remote work.
“Requiring federal employees to come into the office five days a week will lead to a wave of voluntary terminations. We welcome that: If federal employees don’t want to come to work, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the privilege of staying home during Covid,” DOGE leaders wrote.
Currently, not all federal employees are required to be in the office five days a week. Each agency determines its own telework policy to best accomplish its mission.
According to data from the Office of Personnel Management, there are 1.3 million federal employees approved to work remotely. Government data shows that federal employees who work remotely spend 60% of their time doing in-person work.
