Joni Ernst Reads Shocking List Of Remote-Work Abuses By Government Employees

4/7/2025

During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) spoke about remote-work abuses by government employees.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Ernst. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to our nominees for being here today.

00:08There has been a lot of discussion about reductions in force today, and Mr. Cooper, I'll just ask you

00:16if you happen to know this, what percent of federal employees have received a reduction in

00:21force notice? Yes, Senator, I don't know the specific number, but it's been a relatively

00:25small number if you look at the overall workforce. Yes, and while the RIFs are front and center,

00:30let's look at some of the employees who might need to get a RIF notice if they haven't already.

00:38A veterans affairs manager responsible for scheduling veterans appointments posted on

00:43social media that he was phoning it in from a bubble bath while calls to the VA have gone

00:51unanswered. Yes, that is a hairy leg hanging out of a bathtub. That is the actual photo

00:59that he posted during his work hours and on a Zoom call. An Army veteran gave up on getting

01:05mental health, and please listen to this, everyone. An Army veteran gave up on getting mental health

01:13care from the VA because after years of trying to get an appointment, he met with a therapist who,

01:19quote, spent the appointment singing the praises of remote work with a cat draped around her neck.

01:29He said it was such a disaster that, quote, now I'm just on my meds doing my best.

01:37A HUD employee was arrested for drunk driving at 3 30 in the afternoon on a Friday and may have

01:44been paid for time spent sitting in jail. HUD had no idea until I told them. For more than

01:54three years, a social security employee was running a home inspection business. Meanwhile,

02:02his mother was responding to his emails. It should have been a hole in one, but it took the IRS

02:10nearly a decade to fire an IRS employee who was golfing on the taxpayer's dime.

02:18The E-Indoge doesn't stand for elimination. It stands for efficiency. The American people

02:27are best served by an efficient workforce full of good employees, and there are many.

02:35I have been heartened by the number of federal employees who have approached me

02:40blowing the whistle on bureaucrats who are failing to live up to the standards we expect.

02:48There are so many more unnamed federal employees like the current acting administrator of the

02:52Social Security Administration, Mr. Dudek, who know veterans and taxpayers deserve better

02:59than bubble bath bureaucrats and self-interested therapists. Mr. Dudek demonstrated his commitment

03:07to stopping fraud and improper payments and was rewarded with a big promotion.

03:13So, Mr. Cooper and Mr. Ueland, how can agencies be empowered to not only dismiss

03:21bad employees quickly, but also provide positive incentives for good employees like fast-tracked

03:29promotions and other rewards? And I'll start with you, Mr. Cooper.

03:32Great. Thank you, Senator. We talked about this a little bit in your office. I'm

03:36happy to return to it. Yes, look, one of the things that we would like to do if I have the

03:40opportunity to lead OPM is completely relook at the entire talent management process. One of the

03:45most critical ones, as you mentioned, is the overall performance review and promotion process.

03:49And so it's very clear from my perspective that we want a high-performing, high-accountability

03:53organization. I mentioned this in my opening statement, but we should not have a situation

03:57where 69 percent of the workforce is ranked above average. That just kind of defies logic in

04:02many respects. So one of the things that I think OPM should do is do a complete review of that,

04:06figure out ways in which we can have a system that, again, rewards innovation, rewards good work,

04:12but also one in which if we have individuals who unfortunately are not able to perform their

04:16functions, managers need the ability to remove those people in a timely manner from their

04:19organization. No, and thank you. I will assume your confirmation and say that I look forward

04:25to working with you on that. Thank you, Senator. Mr. Uland. Thank you, Senator. And just very

04:30quickly, that's what President Trump expects out of us, to take a look at the rules of the road for

04:36the federal workforce, find ways to innovate, create, and ultimately set new norms about

04:43high performance and the accountability that comes along with the opportunity and the privilege

04:49of federal service. We are all at will employees. You are at will of the electorate. Everybody

04:55behind you, I've served my entire life up here and other roles in the private sector is an at

05:00will employee. It's invigorating. It's exciting. You learn what the expectations are and you work

05:07hard with a high performing team to deliver results. I'm excited about the President's

05:12charge here to rethink, reimagine, and renew for the federal workforce here in the 21st century.

05:17And that's my commitment to this committee. Yes, and I thank you both. And I know that my

05:22time has expired. We don't have other members here. So I'm just going to make one final point.

05:27Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. So just a final point, because I know I had a colleague the other

05:34day that spent 25 hours talking about the federal government on the floor of the Senate. And part of

05:42what he said really bothered me because there were insinuations that there would be cuts to

05:47the Social Security Administration and people wouldn't see delivery and all of this talk.

05:55It was talk. But what I wanted to do was stand up on the floor and say, and I know from personal

06:03experience, again, because I had to take issue with this, the Social Security Administrative

06:10Office in Northwest Iowa had been closed and the workers were doing remote work for four years.

06:21COVID? I think not, folks. We're beyond that. Four years, constituents came to me complaining

06:29because they couldn't get their calls returned, they couldn't get emails returned, and they

06:34couldn't go to the office and see anyone. These are people seeking disability services. These are

06:41elderly. These are people that have lost their spouses and need assistance with Social Security,

06:47and they couldn't get their phone calls returned, emails returned, and they couldn't see someone in

06:52person. I had to call the Social Security Administrator into my office to answer why

07:00these people are not at work and assisting our citizens. So don't tell me that everything has

07:08been rolling just so smoothly under this last administration. We need people that care about

07:14our constituents. They need to show up to work and do their work. We should reward good employees

07:21and get rid of those that truly don't want to work for Americans and only are working for

07:27themselves. So I do expect that from both of you, and I know that we will get that from both of you.

07:35Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Senator. You're almost done. We're saving the best for last.

07:40Senator, our story is about

Joni Ernst Reads Shocking List Of Remote-Work Abuses By Government Employees

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