Trump order ending remote work affects thousands of Arizona federal employees
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Among the flurry of executive orders President Trump signed this week is one that ends remote work for all government employees, including thousands in Arizona.
The big picture: The orders aim to shrink the federal workforce and target what the administration calls "rogue bureaucrats and career politicians."
- Arizona has more federal workers than all but 13 states.
- Yes, but: We're around the middle of the pack for the percentage of federal employees who work from home.
By the numbers: Of Arizona's nearly 118,000 federal workers, nearly 13,000 — a little under 11 % — worked from home, per American Community Survey data from 2023.
- That puts us below the national average of 12.7%, and ranks us 28th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia.
The largest numbers of civilian federal workers in Arizona are:
- More than 16,000 in the rural 2nd Congressional District, which covers large swathes of northern and eastern Arizona
- Nearly 15,000 in southeastern Arizona's 6th Congressional District
- More than 13,000 in the West Valley and western Arizona-based 9th Congressional District
- And more than 12,000 in the 7th Congressional District in the southwestern part of the state.
Why it matters: The federal government will have a tougher time attracting and retaining talented employees now that Trump ordered workers back to the office full time, experts tell Axios.
- That's likely the point. Trump's return-to-office mandate is part of a broader effort by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut the size of the bureaucracy.
- Finding new people to work for the federal government is clearly not a priority.
Zoom out: Arizona is significantly higher than the U.S. average when it comes to remote work, with more than 19% of workers clocking in from home compared to nearly 14% nationally.
What they're saying: "Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome," DOGE head Elon Musk co-wrote in a November op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.
State of play: Trump has directed department and agency heads to phase out remote work arrangements "as soon as practicable."
- He also issued an executive order that effectively reinstates Schedule F, a controversial policy that strips employment protections from certain federal civil servants, making it easier to fire those deemed disloyal to the administration.