DC mayor calls on Biden to stop remote work for government employees in 'back to the office’ speech
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser targeted Biden in her inaugural speech, calling on the government to bring workers back to the office in an attempt to save downtown D.C.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called on the White House to bring government workers back to the office, and if that didn’t work, convert office space into housing to save the city’s downtown.
It was the first major demand that Bowser made in her Jan. 2 inaugural address, and her third time being sworn in as the mayor of Washington D.C.
"We need decisive action by the White House to either get most federal workers back to the office most of the time or to realign their vast property holdings for use by the local government, by non-profits, by businesses and by any user willing to revitalize it," Bowser said.
The mayor, a longtime Democrat who once complained that D.C. couldn’t handle 50 illegal immigrants who arrived outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence last year, said that vacant office space was another key to saving a struggling downtown.
The mayor continued to make her case, arguing that the federal government owns a huge percentage of D.C. office space and has a special responsibility to save the city’s downtown.
"The federal government represents one quarter of DC’s pre-pandemic jobs and owns or leases one third of DC’s office space," she explained.
The mayor, a longtime Democrat who once complained that D.C. couldn’t handle 50 illegal immigrants who arrived outside Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence last year, said that vacant office space was another key to saving a struggling downtown.
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Bowser has presided over the remote work capital of the country, according to census data. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images)
"And, of course, converting office space into housing is the key to unlocking the potential of a reimagined, more vibrant downtown."
Bowser’s speech came after roughly two years of teleworking privileges for thousands of workers in D.C., a benefit that D.C. residents seemingly took ample advantage of.
The city was the remote work capital of the country in 2021, according to census data, with a whopping 48.3 percent of workers reporting that they worked from home.
Politico columnist Michael Schaffer summarized the situation in a Jan. 20 article headlined, "D.C. Mayor to Biden: Your Teleworking Employees Are Killing My City."
Schaffer added that Bowser’s demand to Biden "amounted to telling the boss of a lot of her constituents — a good chunk of whom appear to like remote work — to force staff back to the office."
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D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser called on the White House to bring government workers back to the office, and if that didn’t work, convert office space into housing to save the city's downtown. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
The number of people that could be affected by Bowser’s call for workers to return to the office potentially number in the tens of thousands.
"Right now, 25,000 people call downtown home. Here’s our goal: we will add 15,000 residents over the next five years, and 87,000 more before it’s all said and done. So, that’s right, we have a new 100,000 resident goal."
This is not the first time that Bowser and her political allies have signaled their support of new housing developments in downtown D.C.
Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio said that the plan to rebuild D.C.’s downtown is centered on three key points: "change the Space, fill the space, and bring the people," in a speech last year.