Update (1647ET): Following Elon Musk’s Saturday tweet instructing federal workers to list at least five accomplishments over the past week by Monday at midnight, or face termination – which was followed up by an actual email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), several agencies issued statements telling their employees to pump the brakes.
So far the Pentagon, FBI, State Department, and various parts of the Intelligence Community have told their employees to hold off.
“When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM. For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled ‘What did you do last week,” said DoD Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Darin Selnick in a statement.
That followed a similar statement by FBI Director Kash Patel, who told the bureau that they would conduct their own employee reviews that align with the agency’s procedures.
The State Department told its employees; “The State Department will respond on behalf of the Department. No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command.”
Top leadership at the State Department has instructed its employees to ignore @elonmusk’s productivity inquiry, saying, essentially—we will evaluate our own people. A sign not all Trump officials are on board with Musk’s DOGE email. pic.twitter.com/9tsufc1rXA
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) February 23, 2025
While National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard told employees of agencies she oversees in the Intelligence Community (IC): “Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, I.C. employees should not respond to the OPM email,” according to The Hill.
Meanwhile, Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), wrote a letter to Musk and OPM acting director Charles Ezell, directing its 800,000 members to defy the demand.
“Federal employees report to their respective agencies through their established chains of command; they do not report to OPM,” said Kelly, adding that the demand was “irresponsible” and a “sophomoric attempt” to cause confusion and intimidate federal workers.
“I am also requesting that OPM rescind the email and apologize to all federal employees,” he said.
Musk has defended the ‘accomplishments’ email, saying that it was designed to weed out “non-existent people or the identities of dead people” who are collecting government checks. He also agreed with commentator and author Mike Cernovich that this also helps to identify high-performing employees.
I have a a few friends who are government employees wrapped up in the DOGE “chaos.” And unlike what is being reported in the media, they are ecstatic…
Deep down, most (good) people want to feel like their job has meaning and purpose.
They’ve been spinning their wheels in…
— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) February 23, 2025
I have a a few friends who are government employees wrapped up in the DOGE “chaos.” And unlike what is being reported in the media, they are ecstatic…
Deep down, most (good) people want to feel like their job has meaning and purpose.
They’ve been spinning their wheels in…
— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) February 23, 2025
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Update (1118ET): After panic swept through Washington over Elon Musk’s email requiring all federal employees to send an email by Monday at midnight with five bullet points explaining what they got done last week, Musk explained the reasoning behind the last minute demand: “immense fraud.”
“The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!” Musk wrote on X. “In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud.”
The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!
In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used… https://t.co/Rj5Xe6vYZB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
Musk then said that the email is “a very basic pulse check,” adding in a subsequent post “They are covering immense fraud.“
This email is a very basic pulse check https://t.co/4qEKErwSuE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
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Update (2356ET): Panic has predictably ensued over Elon Musk’s requirement that all federal employees provide a five bullet point summary of what they accomplished last week, due by midnight on Monday (full details below).
While newly minted FBI Director Kash Patel exempted agency employees from the requirement (with much of the intelligence community reportedly set to get the same pass), there’s a lot of upset feds out there.
A DHS employee emails, re Elon’s latest: “Not answering that email, due with baby in three days and already having to use sick leave because of the stress… I hope they fire me at this point can’t wait to sue them”
— Sam Stein (@samstein) February 23, 2025
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) lashed out, posting to X, “This is the ultimate dick boss move from Musk – except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a dick.” (she said on the heels of a coordinated campaign to brand him ‘Co-President Musk’)
To which Musk replied, “What did you accomplish this week?”
What did you get done last week?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
Indeed, this takes less than 5 mins https://t.co/N9F53zxfbz
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
The Rapid Response team, which posts daily information about the Trump agenda, was happy to oblige.
An incredible week! https://t.co/D3AlfUfdeQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
Stay tuned for more…
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Update (2308ET): New FBI Director Kash Patel sent an email to all agency employees on Saturday night instructing them to “pause any responses” to Elon Musk’s request that all federal employees provide summaries of their accomplishments over the past week or face termination.
“The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” reads the note from Patel. “When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.“
The power struggles begin.
FBI Director Kash Patel tonight has instructed his employees to ignore @elonmusk’s productivity inquiry, saying, essentially—we will evaluate our own people, thanks. pic.twitter.com/BkisigRPNq
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) February 23, 2025
Meanwhile, at least one federal employee apparently don’t have time to answer the email – but did have time to complain to a MSM reporter about having to do it.
First off, if this federal employee had time to email a left-wing reporter, surely she had time to email her manager about what she accomplished last week. Also, she took sick leave last week so she can just say that she took the week off from work. Why is this all so dramatic? https://t.co/A2AjlWf2H3
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 23, 2025
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Elon Musk is ‘running the Twitter playbook on the government,’ after writing in a Saturday post on X that all federal employees will be receiving an email “shortly” requesting to “understand what they got done last week.”
Those who fail to reply “will be taken as a resignation.”
Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.
Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025
And there it is (though no mention of the implied resignations for failure to respond):
New: America’s diplomats serving around the world have now received Elon Musk’s email asking them to explain their work, per a diplomatic source. Here it is, subject line: “What did you do last week?” https://t.co/4bOxUGpSF7 pic.twitter.com/3sXspFUB1C
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) February 22, 2025
When X user ‘The Rabbit Hole’ commented that Musk is “running the Twitter playbook on the government,” Musk replied: “It works.“
It works https://t.co/TFkpHlJa7a
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025
The post came hours after President Donald Trump encouraged Musk to “get more aggressive” with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), adding “REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE.“
So awesome https://t.co/t2yAXh8qFZ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025
Musk’s email comes after roughly 77,000 federal employees accepted DOGE’s “Fork in the Road” email offering roughly 8 months of pay in exchange for resigning. After that, DOGE moved to fire thousands of employees across various agencies – mostly those in a probationary period who have been in their jobs for less than one year.
It also comes after the Trump administration scored a legal victory when a judge allowed Musk and crew to continue accessing federal data and arranging for mass layoffs.
Last week, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to work with DOGE to make “preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.”
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Tyler Durden
Sun, 02/23/2025 – 16:47
