Trump Second Administration

Trump Voter and Federal Worker Is Sad He Has to Return to Office Work Under Trump, ‘I Have a Two Hour Commute!’

If you promise to stop being dumb, the Democrats will take you in.

One of the first executive orders from Donald Trump that clearly had the stamp of Elon Musk on it was his mandate for federal workers to return to the office, rather than keep working from home (WFH), as many workplaces have done since the pandemic.

WFH has been hugely popular, since it allows far more flexibility for workers who have proven that they can maintain their productivity outside the office setting. That’s good for both employees, who get to spend more time with family and save on the costs of transportation and childcare, and for employers, who have seen an increase in worker satisfaction without suffering lost productivity.

But some CEOs — like Musk, who heads up the Twitter-turned-X social media platform, Tesla, and space industry giant SpaceX — hate the idea of their workers being that comfortable. Not because they don’t want happy workers, but because they don’t want workers who think they can’t get too much of what they might demand.

It’s likely that without the WFH arrangements most non-customer-service companies made, those businesses would have gone bust. But without the pandemic, they never would have even tried it. Now employees know that they can still be as valuable to a company without being as beholden to normal business hours — as long as they get their work done.

Enter the subreddit r/fednews.

This forum is for people who share their experiences as a Federal employee or contractor, regarding the inner workings of the Federal government. User “redhambone” posted the following lament less than a day ago, after the effects of Trump’s executive order finally made the news.

The title of the post was “I should have listened before November the 5th.”

Every day I am commuting two hours, praying to God that I don’t hit traffic because of a wreck. Our latest hires for the past four years are failing and causing serious public safety concerns due the nature of our job. While I was forced to work during goverment shutdowns, my administrative counterparts were getting free days off without any negative consequences. I couldn’t take leave when I wanted and I would have to bid days off a year in advance while being forced to work weekends and holidays.

After the last nine months of begging for a non competive transfer to be with my fiance who lives 700 miles away, it was approved just to be ripped away from me even though we fall under essential and public safety.

I voted for this stupid shit and these are the consequences of my actions. I was spiteful and arrogant.

Now, before you get all excited about someone actually admitting they made a mistake by voting for Trump, consider the fact that anyone who ever voted for him, in 2016, 2020, or 2024, was doing so because they’re a reliably conservative voter. Especially the last two elections.

Anyone who saw Trump’s first term and voted for him subsequently is definitely not remorseful for their vote because they voted for a Republican. They’re mad because their candidate led them on and made it seem like supporting him would get them special dispensation.

As Reddit commenter “23dgy4me” put it:

“Sorry but I don’t feel sympathy for you. Fact of the matter is there are people who are going to suffer FAR worse than what you’re going through due to the consequences of your vote. My sympathies go out to them instead.

“And to all the people out here lining up to console this chucklef*ck (who is only feeling remorseful because he got bit in the ass, he still doesnt give a f*ck about you or your rights) you know what the best part is? When 2028 rolls around, motherf*ckers like this will STILL vote for conservatives. That is of course, if we even get to have another election.”

After a little pushback from fellow Redditors, 23dgy4me admitted they had a point. BUT:

“I understand the points you’re making, and I’ll admit there’s merit to them. My issue is let’s say this guy is a single issue voter right? Next election rolls around and the conservative candidate promises to fulfill the one specific issue he’s harping about. Well then I guess once again, f*ck civil rights, f*ck Healthcare, f*ck supporting our allies, as long as this guy can go back to remote work. It’s the mindset that led us where we are now (reference the price of groceries argument they kept touting as an excuse to torch everything else).”

I have definitely been guiltily enjoying the posts from people who are not happy about getting exactly what they voted for. But this is what we’re dealing with. This is the problem right here, as a post on Bluesky outlines:

Sure, people regret their votes. But do they regret them enough to learn any lessons from them?

meet the author

Andrew is a dark blue speck in deep red Central Washington, writing with the conviction of 18 years at the keyboard and too much politics to even stand. When not furiously stabbing the keys on breaking news stories, he writes poetry, prose, essays, haiku, lectures, stories for grief therapy, wedding ceremonies, detailed instructions on making doughnuts from canned biscuit dough (more sugar than cinnamon — duh), and equations to determine the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. A girlfriend, a dog, two cats, and two birds round out the equation, and in his spare time, Drewbear likes to imagine what it must be like to have spare time.

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