One of President Donald Trump’s initial actions after assuming office was to instruct federal employees to report back to work on-site.
He has consistently argued that the government workforce cannot achieve productivity when working remotely.
“I strongly believe that you need to be at work. Working from home is not effective,” Trump stated on February 11. “People will just end up going out, playing tennis, playing golf, and engaging in various activities. They won’t be working.”
However, just three days later, Trump visited his expansive Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, where he reportedly spent parts of six consecutive days, according to an NBC News tracker. During this time, he signed two executive orders and a memorandum, and he also hosted an informal press briefing.
In essence, he was working from home.
That weekend, he engaged in the very activity he criticized federal employees for, as he went golfing. Between February 14 and February 19, he played golf on four separate days. While he is not the first president to indulge in this pastime, every trip contributes to taxpayer expenses.
Prior to this, Trump hosted Republican senators at Mar-a-Lago in early February, where he shared remarks about his administration’s efforts to reduce costs.
Some federal workers have pointed out the hypocrisy in Trump’s frequent trips to his luxurious estate in Florida, which incur millions of dollars in security and transportation costs, while mandating millions of government employees to return to their offices.
“It is evident, and should be evident to all Americans, that it is never about ‘the rule’; it’s about who is making the rules,” said a federal employee from the Department of Education, who is also a disabled veteran. “This represents the power dynamics established by this administration — a scenario where Trump acts according to his own whims without facing consequences.”
“The return-to-office directive was never about efficiency, teamwork, or unity,” the employee continued. “It was always about federal employees being ‘traumatically impacted,’ as Russell Vought described it.”
The White House has not responded to requests for comment.
Vought was a key architect of Project 2025, a conservative governing roadmap that significantly influenced the 2024 presidential campaign. This blueprint advocates for substantial workforce reductions and an expansion of presidential authority, both of which are evident in the current Trump administration. Trump has appointed billionaire Elon Musk, his top donor and a defense contractor, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with eliminating what it identifies as wasteful spending.
Both Trump and Musk contend that the federal government is excessively bloated, and the administration has already cut tens of thousands of federal jobs. At the same time, experts caution that Trump’s policy agenda could add trillions to the national debt.
To date, Trump has played golf 14 times in his second term, with more outings anticipated soon. Since January, the estimated cost of his golfing weekends to taxpayers has surpassed $18 million, according to one study.
Trump has spent five out of his seven weekends in office at Mar-a-Lago, and during another weekend, he stayed at a different Trump property in Miami. This Friday, according to a Federal Aviation Administration notice, the president returned to Mar-a-Lago, where he is expected to remain until Sunday evening. His motorcade was en route to his golf club Saturday afternoon, marking the seventh of eight weekends he would spend either fully or partially away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Simultaneously, since his inauguration on January 20, Trump and Musk have often criticized the federal workforce, characterizing it as lazy and symptomatic of wastefulness and fraud.
“I regret to say that many of them don’t work at all,” Trump remarked about dismissed federal workers on Wednesday, offering no evidence for his statements. “Many didn’t even show up to work. That’s unacceptable.”
A report from the White House budget office indicated that as of May 2024, 54% of the 2.28 million federal civilian workforce operated on-site, while 46.4% were eligible for remote work, and 10% held positions that were remote-only.
An employee from Health and Human Services criticized Trump’s remarks as unfounded, arguing that critics fail to recognize that the public benefits from the increased productivity of employees working from home without the burden of commuting. She also described Trump’s regular trips to Mar-a-Lago as “a bad look” considering his stated goal of saving taxpayer money.
Another employee pointed out the irony of Musk’s negative views of federal workers, especially in light of a Politico report revealing that a “massive TV” was installed in Musk’s office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for his video gaming needs, at his request.
“I personally work extremely hard, and I know others do too. I often work 50-60 hours a week, and more when necessary,” stated the HHS employee. “Who will handle all that work once they implement these cuts? Do people honestly believe the public won’t feel the impact?”
Another worker recounted how colleagues rushed to sell their homes to move closer to a train station, while some struggled to secure adequate childcare for the extended commuting hours. Several — including those specifically hired for remote roles — may find themselves obliged to resign.
“Many have structured their lives around these remote positions,” said a Veterans Affairs employee currently on leave with a newborn. “My supervisor, who lives in [Florida], was hired as a remote employee and cannot relocate.”
As far as presidential travels are concerned, Trump is not unique. President Joe Biden has regularly traveled to his residence in Wilmington, Delaware, at taxpayer expense. At one point, first lady Jill Biden was criticized for costly trips made to support her son during his trial. During public scrutiny, Biden claimed he continued to conduct meetings and work while at home. A 2022 analysis revealed that, by then, Biden’s trips to Delaware had cost taxpayers $11 million. Similarly, Barack Obama had taken vacations to Hawaii, which incurred significantly higher costs than trips to Palm Beach, according to Tom Fitton, president of the legal group Judicial Watch.
The organization has tracked the expenses associated with presidential travel since Obama’s administration, estimating that his vacations over eight years cost taxpayers at least $85 million. Fitton mentioned in an interview that this figure could be conservative, as it does not encompass many ancillary costs typically included in current calculations.
“That’s a valid point. However, it’s not the most significant one,” Fitton remarked regarding Trump’s working from Mar-a-Lago despite mandating employees return to the office.
“He’s undoubtedly president 24/7. There’s truly no comparison between a president golfing on weekends and an employee who doesn’t genuinely have to be in the office. Or whose duties are non-essential to the government,” Fitton explained.
He also highlighted that: “Presidential golfing is an ongoing topic of discussion.”
Trump had asserted he would refrain from golfing while in office. During his first presidential campaign in 2016, he criticized Obama for his golfing habits, claiming the public would rarely see him on the course if he became president.
“I enjoy golf, but if I were in the White House, I don’t think I’d ever see Turnberry again,” he mentioned in February 2016, referring to a golf course he owns in Scotland. “I doubt I’d ever visit Doral again,” he added, referencing his Miami course. “I don’t believe I’d see anything else — I just want to stay in the White House and work my rear off.”
Yet, in the current year, he has played golf at the Doral course, which he once claimed he wouldn’t have time to visit.
Noah Bookbinder, president of the watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, noted that every president is expected to take time off to recharge while receiving Secret Service protection. Bookbinder pointed out, however, the contradiction between Trump’s assertions about reducing waste and his frequent golfing. He also mentioned another peculiar aspect regarding Trump.
“He is not merely visiting his residence; he is coming to his own business. Hence, each time he travels, it generates revenue for his business, which enriches him. Simultaneously, while he laments waste and fraud in the federal government, his travel is effectively causing taxpayers to finance his businesses, increasing his wealth. That presents a troubling irony, particularly when there’s such a strong focus on cutting down on government waste, fraud, and abuse.”
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