House GOP asks White House if administration’s remote work policy led to ‘reduced productivity’ by federal employees

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are demanding that the White House explain what motivated a recent push for federal employees to work more in-person.

In a letter sent Thursday and obtained by CNN, Chairman James Comer, Rep. Pete Sessions, the chair of a federal workforce subcommittee, and Rep. Lauren Boebert questioned whether the Biden administration’s post-pandemic telework policy led to “reduced productivity” by federal employees after a recent White House call for more in-office work.

House Republicans have been criticizing the Biden administration’s telework policies and passed the SHOW UP Act that would force federal offices to reimplement pre-pandemic work policies. Comer has argued the administration allows “indiscriminate, unaccountable” levels of telework.

Earlier this month, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients emailed the heads of federal agencies and told them to “aggressively” shift their staffs toward in-person work. Zients cited the end of the Covid-19 emergency, wrote that in-person work can lead to increased productivity and called the shift a “priority of the President.”

“By suggesting that in-person work would lead to improved outcomes, your email implies that the Biden Administration’s widespread use of post-pandemic federal telework has resulted in reduced productivity, diminished customer service, and worse overall returns for the American taxpayer,” the letter, which was addressed to Zients, states.

The lawmakers ask that the White House explain the rationale of the return-to-office message, which was sent the same day the committee requested information from about two dozen federal agencies regarding the number of employees teleworking.

“With the worst effects of the COVID pandemic long behind us, the timing and motivation of the Administration’s sudden push for increased…