Ernst and the incoming Department of Government Efficiency have scrutinized remote work for federal employees, arguing that it hurts productivity and wastes taxpayer money. Anticipating a crackdown, federal employee unions are rushing to negotiate telework agreements through 2029, barring DOGE from interfering with it. Ernst, who is leading the Senate DOGE caucus, moved on Friday to cut off the negotiations.

“The union bosses are rushing to lock in last minute, lavish long-term deals with the lame duck Biden
administration — extending beyond President Trump’s next term in office — guaranteeing that bureaucrats can stay at home for another four years … or longer! Apparently, protecting telework perks for public employees is a higher priority than showing up to serve American taxpayers,” Ernst said in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

“I am calling on you to stop all collective bargaining or any other contractual arrangements related to telework for federal employees extending beyond the few weeks remaining in the Biden administration,” she added. “Giving bureaucrats another four-year vacation from the office is unacceptable. Bureaucrats have had enough gap years — it’s time to get them back to work.”

Each of the 24 letters was largely identical, with the agency and agency head changed.

Ernst detailed the extensive efforts of agency employees unions to secure telework deals before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

“A whistleblower with direct knowledge told me Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials are wrapping up negotiations on a contract slated to run until 2029, the top four priorities of which are, in order: solidifying telework and remote work privileges, limiting accountability through hamstringing employee performance review processes, maximizing use of taxpayer-funded union time, and lastly, permitting the use of agency facilities for union offices,” she wrote.

The letter also demanded information regarding taxpayer-funded union time — time federal employees spend engaging in union activities while being paid. It concluded by asking for further information regarding telework bargaining between agencies and federal workers.

Ernst, who has made efforts to cut government waste a cornerstone of her time in the Senate, has intensified her efforts following the Republican victory in the 2024 elections. Her latest focus has been on cutting telework for federal employees.

On Thursday, she introduced the Decentralizing and Reorganizing Agency Infrastructure Nationwide to Harness Efficient Services, Workforce Administration, and Management Practices Act, otherwise known as the DRAIN THE SWAMP Act. The bill would direct the Office of Management and Budget to relocate at least 30% of all federal workers headquartered in the capital around the country.

For the remaining employees, remote work would be eliminated, requiring them to show up in the office. The OMB would also be directed to sell excess headquarters office space so that all employees showing up would take up 100% of office space.

The bill followed the example of a previous bill she introduced, which aimed to do the same for the Small Business Administration.

At the first DOGE caucus meeting earlier this month, she released a detailed report outlining the extent and effects of telework.

The report outlined the costs associated with federal workers working from home. Three percent of the federal workforce teleworked daily before COVID-19, according to the report. Now, only 6% of workers report in person full time, with a third entirely remote. Ernst’s report warned that telework led to slacking, with workers reportedly caught in leisurely activities while working.

It said $8 billion is spent yearly maintaining and leasing government office buildings and $7.7 billion on the energy to keep them running. The government owns 7,697 vacant buildings and another 2,265 partially empty buildings.