DOGE leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy react to 'absurd' federal remote work practices

A new report has sparked a row in Washington, revealing that only a small fraction of federal workers report to their offices full-time.
The findings, shared by senator Joni Ernst, suggest that just 6% of the federal workforce works on-site full-time, while nearly one-third of federal employees are fully remote.
The shift away from in-person work since the pandemic has drawn criticism from lawmakers and government reform advocates, including prominent figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Elon Musk, co-head of the Department of

Government Efficiency

(DOGE) shared his thoughts on the issue via X. Musk claimed that, “If you exclude security guards & maintenance personnel, the number of government workers who show up in person and do 40 hours of work a week is closer to 1%! Almost no one.” His comment raises concerns about government efficiency and the growing trend of remote work in the federal sector.

Musk's statement highlights the frustration over taxpayers funding government buildings that remain mostly empty. Ernst’s report shows that federal leasing and maintenance costs total $15.7 billion a year, with many empty or underused buildings costing taxpayers millions.
Vivek Ramaswamy, also weighed in, calling the situation “insane.” Both men met with lawmakers to discuss ways to tackle federal inefficiencies, including the staggering number of empty office spaces and underperforming employees.

The report, based on over a year of investigation by Ernst’s office, reveals a worrying lack of use in federal offices. It says that government buildings in Washington, DC, are mostly empty, with occupancy rates at only 12%. “The nation’s capital is a ghost town,” Ernst wrote, asking where federal employees are if they’re not at their desks.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "That’s absurd, and the American people won’t accept it." He vowed that a new administration would push for federal employees to return to their offices.
Ernst’s office discovered that some federal workers were improperly boosting their pay rates by claiming higher locality pay despite working remotely from locations far from their official offices. The report found that teleworkers for some agencies were living over 2,000 miles away from their worksite, with some collecting higher pay for years.
To tackle the issue, Ernst suggested reforms including spreading federal workers across the country and tracking remote workers through virtual private networks.