Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is sending a total of 24 letters to federal agency heads, urging them to halt last-minute work-from-home negotiations as President Biden prepares to return to Delaware.
Ernst, chair of the Senate GOP Policy Committee and leader of the Senate’s DOGE Caucus, made this demand shortly after introducing legislation for 2025 aimed at “decentralizing” and relocating one-third of the federal workforce outside of Washington, D.C. The bill, titled the “DRAIN THE SWAMP Act,” highlights her commitment to federal workforce reform.
According to Ernst, federal office space remains underutilized more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted that no agency has reached even 50% office occupancy and has previously called for selling off unused government real estate to benefit taxpayers.
In her letters, Ernst cited data indicating that 90% of telework-eligible federal employees are still working remotely, with only 6% working full-time in offices. She accused public-sector unions of “dictating personnel policy” without regard to federal directives from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), leading to wasted time, money, and space.
“The union bosses are rushing to lock in last-minute, lavish long-term deals with the lame-duck Biden administration—extending beyond President Trump’s next term in office—guaranteeing that bureaucrats can stay at home for another four years or longer,” Ernst wrote in a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director Robert Shriver III. She added, “Apparently, protecting telework perks for public employees is a higher priority than showing up to serve American taxpayers.”
Ernst highlighted historical opposition to public employee unionization, quoting President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1937 statement against collective bargaining in the public sector. Roosevelt wrote, “The very nature and purposes of government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress.”
She criticized the federal workforce for ignoring Roosevelt’s warning and rushing to finalize collective bargaining agreements and telework policies before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
In one example, Ernst pointed to former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, who, as Social Security Administration Commissioner, reportedly engaged in informal social activities with union leaders while negotiating a contract. She claimed this resulted in an agreement skewed in favor of the union and against taxpayers. Ernst described O’Malley’s actions, including “crooning Irish ballads on his guitar” during a union party in Florida, as emblematic of improper relationships between agency leaders and union officials.
Ernst also called attention to potential misuse of taxpayer-funded union time (TFUT) by Housing and Urban Development employees, including one individual who claimed compensation while in jail. She demanded agencies provide data on TFUT claims, underutilized real estate, and any instances of agency resources being provided to unions at discounted or no cost.
“Giving bureaucrats another four-year vacation from the office is unacceptable. Bureaucrats have had enough gap years—it’s time to get them back to work,” Ernst concluded.
