(AURN News) — President Donald Trump clarified Wednesday that federal workers must return to their offices by February 6 or face termination, marking a significant shift in federal workplace policy.

The directive targets federal employees who have been working remotely, some since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Trump.

"We have informed the federal workforce, which they've looked to do for many years, that if they're working for the federal government, they must show up to the office on time and on schedule," Trump said. "We don't want them to work from home, because, as everyone knows, most of the time, they're not working, they're not very productive, and it's unfair to the millions of people in the United States who are in fact working hard from job sites and not from their home."

Trump indicated the policy could lead to government downsizing. "Most of the people we're talking about have not been going to their federal offices in many, many years from even before COVID, but they have nevertheless been paid," he said. "We think a very substantial number of people will not show up to work, and therefore our government will get smaller and more efficient, and that's what we've been looking to do for many, many decades, frankly.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt elaborated on the policy during a press gaggle outside the West Wing. "This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return to work, and if they don't, then they have the option to resign, and this administration is very generously offering to pay them for eight months," she said. 

"Six percent of the federal workforce in the city actually shows up to work. That's unacceptable. We're all here at work, at the office. There are law enforcement officers and teachers and nurses across the country who showed up to the office today, people in this city need to do the same."

The President also said they would investigate whether remote workers held other jobs while employed by the federal government, which he noted would be unlawful.

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