Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the newly formed task force to overhaul government spending — said they will push to end the work-from-home policy for federal employees, an idea that has sparked clashes between could lead the new government. and government unions.
“Requiring federal workers to come into the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: if federal workers don't want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn't have to pay them for the Covid privilege stay at home era,” they wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Wednesday.
Musk and Ramaswamy said the new Department of Government Efficiency — which will be set up outside the government but will advise the White House on budget and spending issues — would help shrink the federal workforce by forcing employees to resign. In the op-ed, they said they would fulfill their roles as “outside volunteers, and not as federal officials or employees.”
A full return to federal workers' positions could support Washington, DC's local economy, as post-pandemic office vacancy rates remain high and economic activity in the city's downtown has stabilized at 68% of pre-pandemic levels pandemic, according to a 2023 report from the Downtown DC Business Improvement District. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has asked President Joe Biden to bring workers back to the office — or give up office space — in an effort to revitalize the city's downtown.
There are more than two million federal employees and more than 400 agencies across the country. Eighty percent of federal employees work outside Washington, according to the Partnership for Public Service.
If Trump is officially embraced, his return to office has the potential to spark a wave of fighting between the White House and the unions that cover workers at many federal agencies. Some workplaces have long-standing teleworking arrangements that predate the Covid-19 pandemic.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, has taken a closer look at work-from-home policies, telling CNBC in 2023 that tech workers need to “get off the damn moral high horse on working from home.”
Here's the latest on Trump's transition:
Ambassador to Canada
Trump nominates former Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan as U.S. ambassador to Canada. Hoekstra previously served as Trump's ambassador to the Netherlands during his first term and is chairman of the Republican Party in Michigan – a swing state that the president-elect carried in this month's elections.
“In my second term, Pete will help me put AMERICA first again,” Trump said in a statement. “He has done an excellent job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident he will continue to represent our country well in this new role.”
During his first term, Trump scrapped the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he said was costing American jobs, and negotiated a successor pact, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a move he touted in his statement.
“We have leveled trade with Mexico and Canada for our great farmers and working families,” Trump said.
Trade policy will also be paramount during Trump's second administration, with the president-elect applying base tariffs of 10% or 20% on all imports, with higher tariffs on China.
Trump opposes the Freedom of the Press Act
Trump urged Republicans to block a bill to protect press freedom.
“REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social network, with a link to a PBS News Hour video discussing the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, known as the PRESS Act.
Supporters of the measure say it would protect journalists from spying by the federal government, allowing them to keep their sources and materials, such as writings, recordings and photos, confidential.
The bill was passed by the US House earlier this year and is now before the Senate.
The advocacy group Reporters Without Borders urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats earlier this month to pass the bill before the current Congress expires. They called it a “common-sense, bipartisan press shield” and warned that so will Trump and the Republicans, who will control the Senate in January. are unwilling to introduce such legislation.
Trump's post calling on Republicans to block the PRESS Act comes days after the president-elect tried to downplay tensions with the media, which he regularly criticizes and claims is biased.
“It is very important – if not essential – to have a free, fair and open media or press,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Monday, adding that he believes he has a “duty” to engage with the media to work together. .
The president-elect frequently attacked the press as “fake news” during the campaign and has called CBS Broadcasting Inc. was sued for altering excerpts of an interview with his general election rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
NATO envoy elected
Trump has selected Republican lawyer Matthew Whitaker as U.S. ambassador to NATO, choosing a former loyal aide from his first administration as his envoy to an international alliance he regularly criticizes.
“I have the utmost confidence in Matt's ability to represent the United States with strength, integrity and unwavering dedication,” Trump said in a statement on Wednesday. “I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to promote PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, Freedom and Prosperity around the world.”
Trump has attacked NATO allies over their defense spending. During his campaign, he threatened that the US would not help allies who did not spend enough for their own militaries. The NATO post requires Senate confirmation.
In Whitaker, 55, Trump has hired a trusted ally who has been a center of controversy as the nation's top law enforcement official. He served as acting attorney general from November 2018 to February 2019 after Trump forced out his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
Whitaker has accused special counsel Jack Smith of using “new legal theories” to accuse Trump of crimes to disrupt the 2024 election. Smith has filed two cases against Trump, one alleging he tried to overturn the 2020 election and the other accusing him of mishandling classified information and obstructing justice after he left office.
As acting attorney general, Whitaker oversaw special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether Trump conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. At the time, critics feared Whitaker would disrupt or shut down Mueller's investigation. However, he allowed Mueller to continue unchecked.
Gaetz meets Graham
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was committed to giving Trump's pick for attorney general Matt Gaetz a “fair hearing” and urged lawmakers not to rush to judgment after meeting the controversial choice. on Wednesday.
Graham urged his fellow Republicans in a statement to allow the confirmation process to take place and give Gaetz, who is facing intense scrutiny over a sexual misconduct investigation in the House of Representatives, a chance to become the nation's top law enforcement official to be.
“I tend to defer to presidential cabinet picks unless the evidence suggests disqualification,” Graham said. “I fear that the Gaetz nomination process is turning into an angry mob, and that unverified allegations are being treated as if they were true.”
Matt Gaetz, left, and JD Vance at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 20. Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Republicans will gain control of the Senate in January, but Gaetz's confirmation is not assured.
Gaetz and Graham were joined at the meeting by newly elected Vice President J.D. Vance, a senator from Ohio. Vance is arranging sit-downs between key Republicans and two of Trump's most controversial picks for his Cabinet, Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, a Fox News Channel host and member of the Army National Guard who has been tapped as defense secretary.
Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault, while Gaetz has been investigated for sexual misconduct. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
The House of Representatives Ethics Committee, which has been under pressure to make public its findings on the sexual misconduct investigation against Gaetz, voted Wednesday to keep its report confidential, the panel's top Democrat said.
All GOP members of the panel voted to block publication of the report, Democratic Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania said after the committee met behind closed doors for more than two hours. Democrats who wanted to make the findings public needed at least one Republican to support them, she said.
Read more: Gaetz's sexual misconduct report blocked by House GOP
The Justice Department investigated allegations that Gaetz had sex with a minor in exchange for money, but decided not to file charges against him in February 2023. Gaetz has denied the allegations.
Gaetz resigned from Congress days before the Ethics Committee was set to deliberate on how to handle the results of her investigation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
