'Significant hurdle': Here’s why Trump isn’t able to order federal workers back to the office

President Donald Trump issued a long list of executive orders after returning to the White House, including a directive for federal workers to cease remote work and return to physical offices for in-person work.

Trump issued that order on January 20, the first day of his nonconsecutive second term. And two days later, the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) gave federal employees roughly 30 days to comply.

But according to Washington Post reporter Aaron Wiener, Trump's order is facing a "significant hurdle": a shortage of federal office space.

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Wiener, in an article published on February 5, explains, "Some agencies downsized their office space during the COVID pandemic, as many employees moved to remote or hybrid work. Others had already granted telework arrangements to large numbers of workers, leaving them without an assigned office desk. And some employees hired as fully remote workers during the pandemic have never been assigned to an office and don't even know where they'll be expected to report to work."

Wiener adds, "The clock is ticking, and many federal workers — and the Trump Administration itself — have no idea how they or their offices will comply."

Jack Fingert, who served as a senior adviser to the General Services Administration (GSA) under former President Barack Obama, warns that the shortage of federal government office space is quite real.

Fingert told the Post, "There are some specific offices where they literally don't have enough square feet per person. They'll be sitting on top of each other."

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According to an employee of the U.S. Department of the Air Force — who was interviewed on condition of anonymity — the Pentagon sent workers home in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic but never recalled them.

The worker told the Post, "And now, because they gave their desks away, they have nowhere for employees to work in the building."

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Read the Washington Post's full article at this link (subscription required).