### Push for Return to Office: Ramaswamy and Musk Target Federal Telework

Efforts to enhance government efficiency, spearheaded by Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, are focusing on reducing remote work among federal employees. Currently, a significant portion of federal workers still operate from home, even 18 months after the pandemic was declared over. Washington's Mayor Muriel Bowser has openly voiced her frustration about the underutilized federal office spaces in downtown Washington, which remain costly to maintain.

Bowser recently expressed her intentions to discuss with President-elect Donald Trump about encouraging federal employees to return to their offices. Highlighting the importance of revitalizing Washington, she stated, "How we can make sure that our federal workforce is back to work is one big thing," and emphasized the desire for collaboration with the federal government to "bring vibrancy back to our town."

Data from the Office of Management and Budget reveals that federally-telework eligible employees spend approximately 60% of their work time in the office, with about 10% working fully remotely. The U.S. federal workforce consists of approximately 2.2 million employees.

In a post-election interview, Ramaswamy indicated a desire to drastically reform the federal government by compelling civil servants to return to the office. He estimated such measures could reduce the federal workforce by 25%.

However, Jacqueline Simon, policy director for the American Federation of Government Employees, argued that remote work eligibility is overstated by Ramaswamy and Musk. She pointed out that more than half of federal roles are not suitable for remote work, citing healthcare workers at VA hospitals, corrections officers, Border Patrol agents, federal air marshals, and food inspectors as examples.

The issue of expensive, underutilized office space has become a pressing concern. The Government Accountability Office reported that the 17 largest federal agencies used, on average, only a quarter of their available office space last year. Notably, the Education Department, which is under scrutiny by Musk and Ramaswamy, had an even lower usage rate of 16%. The Office of Personnel Management showed the lowest office use rate at 9%.

Simon also mentioned that remote work options help recruit and retain talent in the federal sector, which often struggles to compete with private-sector compensation. President Joe Biden's mandate in August 2023 aimed to address this issue by requiring federal employees to spend at least half of their bi-weekly pay period working from the office.

Interestingly, remote work was promoted by the federal government long before the pandemic. Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush endorsed teleworking to ensure continuity of operations during emergencies. In 2004, there were about 750,000 federal employees eligible for remote work. That number has nearly doubled to 1.3 million in the years since.