House Dems press administration on telework for military spouses

A group of 13 House Democrats on Monday accused federal agencies of not doing enough to ensure that military spouses are exempted from the Trump administration’s return-to-office mandate.

When President Trump returned to the White House last month, one of his first executive actions was to issue a presidential memorandum directing federal agencies to effectively end the use of telework and remote work in most cases. Subsequent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management “categorically exempted” military spouses from the return-to-office push.

But according to 13 House Democrats, mostly members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and led by the panel’s ranking member Gerry Connolly, D-Va., in a letter to Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, OPM’s guidance has not filtered into some agencies’ implementation plans. Programs like the State Department’s Domestic Employees Teleworking Overseas have had bipartisan support in Congress due in part to the fact that the unemployment rate for military spouses is five times the national average.

“Despite the guidance to agencies, many military families have yet to receive clarity from their employing agency that they are able to continue working remotely or via telework,” the lawmakers wrote. “Some military spouses report that their telework or remote work agreements that were in place prior to the January 20, 2025 directive [to return to traditional worksites] have been rescinded, and it is unclear if or when they can expect to enter into new agreements that would allow them to continue teleworking or working remotely. We have also heard about military spouses who were informed that their agency will no longer process new DETO agreements, and others who have received no clarity on DETO agreements that were in the approval process when the January 20, 2025 directive was issued.”

Further complicating matters, the lawmakers said that a number of intra-agency resources for military spouses, such as listservs and counseling services, have been shut down as part of the administration’s initiative to strip diversity, equity and inclusion programs from the federal government.

The lawmakers demanded that OPM issue renewed guidance emphasizing the need to preserve military spouses’ telework and remote work agreements and to exempt resources aiding military spouses from the administration’s DEI purge.

“Given the urgent clarity needed for these families, we request that you immediately ensure that all federal agencies reinstate or approve remote work and telework agreements for military spouses that were in place or in process prior to January 20, 2025,” they wrote. “[The] federal government has an obligation to ensure military families have equitable opportunities to build a future serving the American people through careers in the federal workforce.”