Top Republican demands answers from Biden official working mostly outside of Washington, DC

FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is turning up the heat on a Biden administration official that is taking full advantage of their remote work policy.

Comer sent a letter to General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Robin Carnahan regarding whistleblower reports of her predominantly working remotely outside of the nation’s capital while serving in a high-level government position.

Additionally, the newly-minted House oversight chairman is introducing the Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act into Congress.

The act aims ‘to prevent the Biden Administration from cementing pandemic-era telework policies for the federal workforce until it provides Congress with a viable plan to avoid the negative impacts of remote work,’ according to a press release exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

‘For years, Americans have suffered from the federal government’s detrimental pandemic-era telework policies for federal bureaucrats,’ Comer said in the press release. ‘President Biden’s unnecessary expansion of telework crippled the ability of departments and agencies to fulfill their responsibilities and created cumbersome backlogs.’

‘The federal government exists to serve the American people and these substantial delays for basic services are unacceptable,’ he continued. ‘As Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, I intend to advance commonsense legislation to guarantee federal agencies are meeting their missions.’

Comer said he is ‘proud to introduce the SHOW UP Act, which will ensure the federal workforce returns to the office,’ and, in addition, he is ‘also seeking information from the GSA regarding reports indicating Administrator Carnahan was routinely absent from her Washington office.’

‘Biden Administration officials must lead by example and work in person for the American people,’ he added.

In his letter to Carnahan, Comer said his committee has ‘received whistleblower reports you have spent most of your time working in a location other than Washington D.C during your tenure as GSA administrator’ and that he is ‘writing to determine whether these reports are accurate, and if so, understand the reason behind routine absences and whether they are in compliance with relevant regulations.’ 

‘Since the beginning of the Biden Administration, Committee Republicans have expressed concerns that the broader federal workforce has been slow to return to in-person work, even after President Biden assured the public in his State of the Union address last year that ‘the vast majority of federal workers will once again work in-person,’’ Comer wrote.

‘Republicans also expressed concern other agency heads have had a limited physical presence in Washington, D.C.,’ he continued. ‘If the intent of President Biden’s statement was to encourage Americans to return to the office by leading by example, agency leadership must work in-person as well.’

Comer also demanded answers from the GSA administrator about the ‘number of days you have been present in Washington, D.C. since assuming your role’ and any ‘arrangement’ between the GSA and herself ‘regarding a teleworking or remote work agreement.’

The GSA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.