Trump vows to fire federal employees who won't return to office. What it means in Michigan
President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that he plans to fire any federal employees who don't physically return to their offices full time once his administration takes over; such a move could affect thousands of Michigan federal employees.
"If people don't come back to work, come back into the office, they're going to be dismissed," Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and personal residence.
Trump also pledged to challenge in court a Biden-era agreement allowing for remote work.
"Somebody in the Biden administration gave a five-year waiver of that, so for five years people don't have to come back into the office," he added. "It's ridiculous. It was like a gift to a union, and we're obviously going to be in court to stop it."
The Social Security Administration and more than 40,000 workers represented by the American Federation of Government Employees union reached a deal earlier this month that would allow most of those employees to continue working remotely two to five days per week.
Ending remote work across the U.S. government is likely to be a recommendation from Elon Musk's and Vivek Ramaswamy's initiative to cut government spending dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has long been critical of working from home, which he has called "morally wrong."
Around half of the country's 2.3 million federal employees work fully in-person, while the other half are eligible for remote work, according to the Office of Management and Budget. Around 10% are fully remote.
Here's a look at the federal government in Michigan.
How many federal employees are there in Michigan?
There are 29,000 federal civilian employees in Michigan — not including uniformed military personnel or federal contractors, according to the Congressional Research Service, as of September 2024.
Based on OMB figures that show 56% of federal employees work remote or hybrid, about 16,200 people could face a decision.
It's not known how many workers in which departments might choose to return to the office if there is an order to do so.
How many Social Security offices are there in Michigan?
The Social Security Administration's Chicago regional office lists 48 Michigan sites, including:
- Adrian
- Alpena
- Ann Arbor
- Battle Creek
- Bay City
- Benton Harbor
- Big Rapids
- Cadillac
- Chesterfield
- Clawson
- Dearborn
- Detroit - Conner
- Detroit 7 Mile
- Detroit - Downtown
- Detroit - East
- Detroit - Highland Park
- Detroit - Northwest
- Detroit - Southwest
- Escanaba
- Farmington
- Flint - downtown
- Fort Gratiot
- Grand Rapids
- Grand River
- Holland
- Houghton
- Inkster
- Ironwood
- Jackson
- Kalamazoo
- Lansing
- Livonia
- Ludington
- Marquette
- Monroe
- Mt. Pleasant
- Muskegon
- Flint - north
- Owosso
- Petoskey
- Pontiac
- Roseville
- Saginaw
- Sault Ste. Marie
- Sterling Heights
- Traverse City
- West Branch
- Wyandotte
What other federal offices are located in Michigan?
The U.S. General Services Administration counts more than 13,000 federal tenants reside in 6 million square feet of space, including five international land ports of entry (border stations) and six federal courthouses in Michigan.
Among the federal buildings in Michigan are:
- Ann Arbor Federal Building
- Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek
- The Rosa Parks building in Detroit, as well as the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building, the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse and the U.S. Customs Cargo Inspection Facility.
- The Charles E. Chamberlain Federal Building in Lansing
- The Gerald R. Ford Federal Building in Grand Rapids
- The Flint federal building and U.S. courthouse
- The Port Huron federal building and U.S. courthouse
- The U.S. border station at Sault Ste. Marie
- The U.S. courthouse and post office in Marquette
- The Bureau of Prisons federal prison in Milan
How many Post Offices are there in Michigan?
The United States Postal Service lists 997 offices in Michigan, according to its website. More than 100 of those, however, are discontinued offices.
Are there other offices represented in Michigan?
Yes, there are a variety of other offices and departments that operate in Michigan. It's unclear how many employees work remotely or in person.
What is the largest federal employer in Michigan?
The Detroit Arsenal, home to the TACOM headquarters, and to many organizations that generate U.S. military readiness around the world, has a Michigan-based workforce of more than 6,000 people, the Army said.
What other states could be impacted by firing federal workers?
The District of Columbia has 162,000 federal workers, California has 147,000, Virginia has 144,000, Maryland has 142,000 and Texas has 129,000.