Federal employees argue that it is not their responsibility to rescue the city’s economy, especially when returning to the office adds personal costs like gas, food, and work clothes.
Randy Erwin, the national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, criticized the mandate, stating, “There’s this myth that federal workers aren’t coming to work,” calling it “a bunch of political BS.”
He also condemned Elon Musk’s involvement in the policy. Musk, who now leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been vocal about his disdain for remote work, referring to federal employees as “innovation-blocking bureaucrats.”
Erwin argued that Musk lacks understanding of the federal workforce and the essential services they provide, saying, “I don’t think he knows the first thing about the federal workforce, who they are, where they are, and the valuable services that they provide.”
Intentional Workforce Reductions?
Experts suggest that the return-to-office mandate is part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to overhaul the federal bureaucracy.
