Capitol Hill progressives claw back letter demanding 32 hour work week

A letter with workplace demands was quickly retracted by Capitol Hill progressive staffers, but not before sending a clear message to DOGE.

At the behest of President-elect Donald Trump, the proposed Department of Government Efficiency had set a target of $2 trillion in cuts from the federal budget by July 2026. So when the Congressional Progressive Staff Association’s (CPSA) call for shorter workweeks promised the same or better productivity, they were quick to retract their demand after seemingly drawing a target on their own backs on where to start eliminating waste.

Referring to their Friday statement as a “response” to their own Thursday letter submitted to congressional leaders and all members of the 119th Congress, the CPSA said in part on their withdrawal, “The letter failed to make two things clear: First, that progressive congressional staff are dedicated to serving the American people no matter how many hours it takes to get the job done. Second, that there are well-known, longstanding workplace issues that deserve Congress’s immediate attention if it wishes to effectively serve the people.”

“We are ready to continue the urgent task of serving our bosses’ constituents and advancing the causes that put working-class people first,” the statement added. “CPSA is looking forward to continuing to support staff in their efforts to address these critical workplace issues.”

Within the letter, the staffers had insisted they continue to receive the same pay despite demanding their availability be cut by 20% and said, “We write today to encourage you to consider adopting a proposal that would improve worker satisfaction, increase staff retention in Congress, and model a more sustainable approach to work on a national level.”

Lamenting the labor for staffers in Washington, D.C. as well as those back in the respective representatives’ districts, the CPSA spoke of the routine long hours “at a level of rigor that regularly leads to burnout.”

Claiming that the reduced hours often resulted in increased productivity when workplaces had tried a 32-hour workweek model, the letter insisted, “Working 32 hours, employees have a more substantial reprieve from work and therefore are able to complete the same tasks in less time.”

The suggestion from the organization came as heavy scrutiny was already being applied to federal workers, including by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R), founder of the Senate DOGE Caucus, who’d released a report late in 2024 exposing and unloading on telework.

“If federal employees can’t be found at their desks, exactly where are they?” asked the report that highlighted how officials in President Joe Biden’s administration like Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg weren’t in their offices while connecting telework to breaks in communication that, in one instance, had delayed safety concerns about an infant formula plant reaching the FDA in Oct. 2021.

Reactions to the CPSA letter had many calling for Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-heads of the proposed DOGE, to set their sights on the workloads of staffers to see whether a 20% reduction in staff would be a more cost-effective solution.

“Hey @DOGE if ‘Progressive Hill staff’ can complete their work in 32 hrs/wk, then I think it’s time to downsize and redistribute the work load, to [accommodate] a 40 hr work week, WITHOUT a pay increase,” wrote one X user. “Anyone who gets a government salary, should expect to work at least 40 hrs/wk.”

Kevin Haggerty

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