N. Va. leaders criticize possible return-to-work edict for federal employees

A number of regional leaders are pushing back on the incoming Trump administration’s goal to quickly return federal workers to offices five days a week.

Despite concerns about the impact of work-from-home patterns on local transit and the commercial office sector, the requirement that federal workers return to the office full-time brought concerns from speakers at a recent Dulles Area Transportation Association (DATA) forum.

“It is a nuanced question. What makes sense for one agency and position doesn’t make sense for all,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said during virtual forum the 5th of December

McKay estimated that about 50,000 Fairfax County residents are employed in the federal workforce. Claiming them all back in the office full-time five years post-Covid sent many to a home office environment would have pluses and minuses, he said.

“There’s no doubt that telecommuting hurts Metro. Metro could obviously use the fare,” McKay said. “(But) in terms of our air quality, our infrastructure, our roads, they don’t necessarily need more congestion.”

When NBC4 reporter Adam Tuss, who moderated the forum, was asked about back-to-office mandates, Rep.-elect Suhas Subramanyam (D-10) said his position is “really context dependent.”

“It doesn’t necessarily mean everybody comes in five days a week,” he said. “It seems like a cop out, but I think it’s the right answer.”

Some who are expected to play big rules in the Trump administration, such as billionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, called for all 2.2 million people in the federal workforce to return to the office full time. Whether they can make it happen once the new president is sworn in on January 20 remains to be seen.

“We’re watching to see what the new administration will do,” said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairwoman Deshundra Jefferson.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as the incoming Trump administration thinks it will be,” McKay added.

About two-thirds of federal workers have at least some flexibility to work from home, although the Office of Management and Budget reported this summer that only around one in 10 do not spend time in an office.

Among those pushing for a robust return-to-work call is D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who began urging the Biden administration to bring more workers back to office in early 2023, citing concerns about the city’s economic viability.

“We must and will win back our downtown because it is the economic engine that allows us to invest in our schools, our safety net and our public works,” Bowser said in his January 2023 inauguration speech. “It is the legendary goose that lays the golden egg.”

Another who could be receptive to a return-to-work policy is Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) Chairman Matt de Ferranti, a member of the Arlington County Board.

“It could be a positive development,” he said at NVTC’s Meeting 5 December.

An immediate order to bring federal workers back into the office full-time could lead to a large number of retirements and resignations, McKay suggested.

“If I did it in the county, we’d probably lose 25% to 30% of our employees on day 1,” he said. “It’s just the reality.”

Comments from Ramaswany and Tesla owner Elon Musk, who has been chosen by Trump to lead a proposed advisory commission on “government efficiency”, suggests a departure of a significant part of the workforce would be fine of them. McKay pushed back on that view.

“If the motive behind this is to drive really talented, experienced people out of their important federal government positions, then that’s reckless,” he said. “It is absurd to assume that remote work equals not working. Some of these people have never worked harder.”

“People get the job done,” agreed Jefferson. “Workers proved during the pandemic that we can be just as productive, if not more so, working at home. We have a lot more technology, people have learned to collaborate.”

Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-11) was invited to attend the forum but was unable to attend due to congressional business.

Photo via Chris Montgomery/Unsplash