President Trump signed an executive action on Monday at the Capital One Arena, directing federal agencies to order their workers back to the office full-time.
"Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary," the executive memo states.
Having more federal employees work from the office has long been a focus of Republicans.
"Service backlogs and delays, unanswered phone calls and emails, and no-show appointments are harming the health, lives, and aspirations of Americans," wrote Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst in a report released late last year.
In that report, Ernst, a Republican, claimed that only 6% of federal workers work in-person full time, while one-third work fully remotely. Trump cited that 6% statistic again in previewing the order.
In fact, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, a majority of federal employees already work in their offices full-time.
In a report to Congress issued last August, OPM noted that as of May 2024, 54% of the 2.3 million civilians employed by the federal government work entirely in-person given the nature of their jobs. About 10%, or 228,000 employees, work entirely remotely.
Many agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Social Security Administration, agreed to long-term telework arrangements in their collective bargaining agreements.
Trump also signed a hiring freeze for most federal agencies, with the military being one notable exception.
Read more from Andrea Hsu here.
Copyright 2025 NPR
