The House Oversight Committee held a hearing on Tuesday that revealed new instances of government waste, fraud, and abuse, particularly tied to federal agency operations under the Biden-Harris administration and the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Lawmakers on the committee focused on billions of dollars in taxpayer funds that were spent on federal buildings, including purchases of furniture and facility upgrades, despite those buildings being largely unoccupied by federal employees.

Witness testimony indicated that significant expenditures continued even as remote work policies kept workers out of offices for extended periods.

According to testimony presented at the hearing, federal agencies spent large sums on furnishing and maintaining office space that remained empty for most of Joe Biden’s term.

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Lawmakers expressed concern that little oversight was applied to these expenditures, which contributed to growing waste across multiple departments.

“Billions of taxpayer dollars were spent on outfitting buildings that workers never returned to,” one witness said, referring to widespread remote work arrangements that persisted throughout the Biden-Harris administration.

The hearing follows President Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025, executive order mandating the return of federal employees to in-person work.

On his first day back in office, President Trump issued the directive from the Oval Office to all heads of executive branch departments and agencies.

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“Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary,” the order stated.

Trump’s return-to-work order aimed to address concerns about inefficiencies in the federal workforce and to bring accountability back to agencies operating without full staff on-site.

Lawmakers backing the order cited not only the operational inefficiencies but also the excessive costs of maintaining government buildings with no in-person workforce present.

The Oversight Committee’s investigation highlighted cases where agencies had ordered new furniture, remodeled office spaces, or upgraded facilities while work-from-home policies were still in effect.

🚨John Hart—CEO at Open the Books—testified how the Biden Administration spent billions of taxpayer dollars on lavish furniture as federal offices sat empty:

"Agencies have spent more than $4.6 billion on furniture alone. That amount could buy 9.2 million American families a… pic.twitter.com/WTcUbKQ4o6— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) April 8, 2025

In many instances, employees had not set foot in their assigned offices in years, and there were no plans to resume full-time occupancy prior to Trump’s directive.

Members of the committee pressed witnesses and agency officials for answers on how such spending was approved and why it continued despite the lack of in-person activity.

Lawmakers raised questions about the procurement process and whether any efforts were made to halt or delay unnecessary spending during the extended period of remote work.

This is exactly the sort of thing @DOGEcommittee is here to expose:Most of the largest federal agency buildings weren't even at 25% capacity in 2023.ANDThe federal government was spending $7 billion on leases alone for buildings that employees weren't even showing up to. pic.twitter.com/At6lS4sahl

— Rep. Pat Fallon (@RepPatFallon) April 8, 2025

The issue is expected to be a continued focus for congressional investigators in the coming weeks.

Committee leaders have signaled they intend to examine additional records from agencies that spent heavily on facilities and office infrastructure during the pandemic and throughout the Biden-Harris administration.

The investigation is part of a broader review of federal agency spending and pandemic-era policies, many of which remain under scrutiny for lack of oversight and long-term financial impact on taxpayers.

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