The contract with one of the agency's powerful unions allows many employees to continue teleworking multiple days each week and permits 1.3 percent of the agency's workforce to stay fully remote. O'Malley, the former Maryland governor, signed the agreement weeks after the presidential election and soon before resigning from his year-long stint atop the beleaguered agency to run for chair of the Democratic National Committee, saying it resolved protracted union talks and saved the agency up to $10 million to $20 million.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) challenged O'Malley at a House Oversight Committee hearing, questioning whether his signing of the agreement was intended to undermine President Trump as he entered office. O'Malley defended his actions, saying, 'I did what I did to better serve the American people.'
The issue of where and how federal employees can work has become a source of fierce debate in Washington, as Trump paints the government workforce as a broken, indolent bureaucracy, while Democrats advocate for its essential role in democracy. The hearing provided an opportunity for congressional Republicans to scrutinize actions taken by Biden's appointees while he was still in office.
#federal-workforce #telework-agreement #republican-critique #biden-administration #government-efficiency
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