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The Trump administration has made it clear that it intends to bring federal employees back into the office to ensure government operations run efficiently. A White House statement to Fox News Digital emphasized that the new policy aims to deliver the changes voters supported in the 2024 election, rather than locking the country into “wasteful and ineffective Biden policies.”
“The outgoing Biden administration negotiated lame-duck, multi-year collective bargaining agreements — during the week before the inauguration — in an attempt to tie the incoming Trump administration’s hands,” the White House fact sheet states.
Trump’s Crackdown on Federal Work-From-Home Policies
Trump’s latest directive follows his administration’s push to return federal employees to the office full-time. The White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has already instructed agency leaders to notify employees about the return-to-office order. Under this new policy, federal workers must work in-person unless they have a verified medical condition or disability.
In a surprising move, OPM also sent an email to the entire federal workforce offering an alternative: Those who do not wish to return to the office can resign but will still receive full pay and benefits until September 30. However, this option is not available to postal workers, military immigration officials, national security personnel, or other essential positions.
Trump Calls Out Biden’s Union Deals
Trump has made it clear that he views Biden’s last-minute agreements as an overreach meant to benefit federal unions at the expense of taxpayers. Speaking at a press conference just days before taking office, Trump slammed the Biden administration’s actions.
“We’re talking about a friendly takeover, a friendly transition as they like to say, this is a friendly transition, and it is,” Trump said. “But there are two events that took place that I think are very terrible.”
“One is that if people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed, and somebody in the Biden administration gave a five-year waiver of that. So that for five years, people don’t have to come back into the office,” Trump continued. “It involved 49,000 people for five years. They don’t have to go. They just signed this thing. It’s ridiculous. So it was like a gift to a union, and we’re going to obviously be in court to stop it.”
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Federal Unions Push Back
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s decision has sparked backlash from the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers. The AFGE has vowed to fight Trump’s order, and a legal battle could be looming.
The Biden administration’s last-minute CBAs were seen by many as an attempt to secure union support and entrench leftist policies beyond Biden’s term. However, Trump’s decisive action ensures that federal agencies cannot be bound by agreements made in the final days of a lame-duck administration.
With Trump back in charge, federal employees should prepare for a return to normal operations, and taxpayers can expect a more accountable and efficient government. The fight over federal work policies is far from over, but one thing is clear—Trump is keeping his promise to undo Biden’s bureaucratic overreach.
