President-elect Donald Trump made it clear on Monday that the era of COVID-era remote work privileges for federal employees is coming to an end. At a press conference, Trump took aim at President Biden’s deal with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which allows tens of thousands of Social Security Administration (SSA) workers to remain in a hybrid work setup until 2029. Trump called it a blatant “gift to a union” and vowed to challenge it in court.
“If people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed,” Trump said firmly. Highlighting the Biden administration’s five-year agreement, he added, “It’s ridiculous… We’re going to obviously be in court to stop it.”
The deal in question, first reported by Bloomberg, permits approximately 42,000 SSA workers to maintain their current telework and hybrid schedules, requiring anywhere from two to five days in the office per week. The agreement has drawn sharp criticism from Trump allies, who view it as a barrier to restoring workplace productivity and accountability within the federal government.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have echoed his frustrations. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Musk and Ramaswamy argued that reinstating full-time, in-office work for federal employees would trigger a wave of voluntary resignations—a cost-cutting “win” for taxpayers. “If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the COVID-era privilege of staying home,” they wrote.
Musk, no stranger to controversial workplace mandates, has long opposed remote work, pushing for in-office requirements at Tesla and Twitter. Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and vocal advocate for efficiency, shares that no-nonsense approach. Together, they are poised to lead Trump’s charge to “cut the fat” from bloated federal agencies and bring government operations into a leaner, more productive future.
Union leaders, unsurprisingly, are pushing back. AFGE National President Everett Kelley defended the deal, claiming that telework “has helped the federal government increase productivity and efficiency, maintain continuity of operations, and increase disaster preparedness.” Kelley also insisted that only 10% of federal workers are fully remote and that most hybrid employees spend over 60% of their work hours in the office.
But Trump and his team aren’t buying it. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who chairs the Senate’s DOGE caucus, called the deal “unacceptable” and pledged to work with Musk, Ramaswamy, and DOGE to “fix this ASAP and get bureaucrats back to work.”
Here’s the bottom line: Trump’s approach to federal work is about optics as much as it is about efficiency. The hybrid and remote work deals secured under Biden are not just symbolic of COVID-era leniency—they’ve become a flashpoint for larger debates about government accountability, waste, and the role of unions. Trump’s allies argue that allowing tens of thousands of workers to stay home—even partially—sends the wrong message, especially to private-sector employees who’ve returned to offices long ago.
The Biden administration and the AFGE are framing the telework deal as a win-win for employees and taxpayers, citing continuity and productivity gains. But Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy see an opportunity to trim the federal workforce, lower spending, and set a precedent for a new standard of government efficiency.
Trump’s promise to reverse the deal and force federal workers back into the office aligns perfectly with his larger goals for 2025: shrink government bloat, demand accountability, and remind Americans that the days of unchecked union influence are over.
