CNN host Brianna Keilar forced Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) to admit that some government employees should be allowed to work remotely as President Donald Trump's administration pushed to end the practice.
During a Wednesday interview on CNN, Keilar pointed out that many military spouses working from home were impacted by Trump's executive order pushing agencies to end telework.
"There are service members who cannot stay because they have, you know, multiple children and a spouse, and they can't stay and serve if their spouse cannot have a job," the CNN host told Fallon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "Many of them are gainfully employed in the federal government. It is a huge employer of military spouses."
"They have three children, and they are being told that they need to drive 40 miles — an hour and a half each way — to work and back when telework was allowing them to work before their kids got up, get their kids to school, or to daycare, work after their kids went to bed so that they could do," she continued.
"These are military spouses who are viewing their federal work as service the way their service members in all of these service branches view their service."
"Are you aware of this? It doesn't sound like it."
Fallon suggested that the ability to work from home "was born out of COVID." But Keilar informed him that he was mistaken.
"OK, they could telework," he conceded. "And so what you're saying now is they're not being allowed to telework, or is somebody just telling you that? Because it sounds anecdotal."
"It's not anecdotal, sir," Keilar insisted.
"So Brianna, what I'm asking you is, did somebody tell you this?" Fallon wondered.
"Sir, I'm talking to dozens of military spouses," the CNN host said. "They had telework before COVID. They are in a position where they will not be able to maintain their work because of this return to work [executive order]."
"Well, we're going to have to take a look at that," Fallon admitted. "I haven't seen that... I haven't heard that, but I'm certainly welcoming to look into it."
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"It's not anecdotal," Keilar said. "I will tell you that this is widespread across many, many agencies."
"And so you've done scientific research on it already," Fallon quipped.
"I've done reporting on it. That's what I do. I report," Keilar replied. "It's a broad problem. I'm just letting you know."
