Elon Musk Orders Federal Employees to Justify Their Work, Sparks Backlash
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Elon Musk, acting as President Donald Trump’s chief of government efficiency, has issued a directive requiring all federal employees to report their accomplishments from the past week, a move that has sparked confusion and resistance across multiple agencies.
On Saturday, Musk announced the directive via his social media platform, X, stating, “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.”
Shortly after the announcement, federal employees, including judges, court staff, and officials in various agencies, received an email instructing them to submit “approximately five bullet points” summarizing their work, with a deadline of Monday at 11:59 p.m. The email, however, did not include Musk’s warning about resignation for noncompliance.
Agencies Push Back
The directive has led to confusion within federal agencies, with some advising employees not to respond. The State Department was among the first to push back, with Acting Undersecretary for Management Tibor Nagy stating in an internal email, “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.”
The National Weather Service also urged caution, informing employees to withhold responses until the authenticity of the request could be verified. Similarly, federal judiciary officials advised judges and court staff to ignore the directive, noting that it did not originate from the Judiciary or the Administrative Office.
Union Outrage and Legal Threats
The sweeping order has been met with immediate backlash from labor unions. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), condemned the demand, calling it a “blatant display of disrespect” for federal workers.
“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” Kelley stated. The union has vowed to challenge any unlawful terminations resulting from the directive.
Federal Workforce Reductions
The controversy comes amid a broader effort by Trump and Musk to reduce the size of the federal government. Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, thousands of federal employees have been either fired or incentivized to leave through buyouts. The Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, the IRS, and the National Park Service have all seen substantial staff reductions.
While an official count of federal layoffs has not been released, estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of government workers have already been affected. The White House and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have also frozen trillions of dollars in federal grants and instructed agencies to prepare for “large-scale reductions in force.”
Musk’s ‘Chainsaw for Bureaucracy’
Musk’s aggressive approach to federal downsizing was on full display at a recent conservative gathering, where he waved a chainsaw on stage, referring to it as the “chainsaw for bureaucracy.” “Waste is pretty much everywhere,” Musk declared during the event, reinforcing his commitment to cutting government spending.
Despite the resistance from multiple agencies, the Office of Personnel Management confirmed that Musk’s directive remains in effect. McLaurine Pinover, an OPM spokesperson, stated that agencies would determine how to proceed with enforcement and what actions, if any, would be taken against employees who do not respond.
As the Monday deadline approaches, uncertainty remains about how strictly the administration will enforce the mandate and whether further legal challenges will arise. Meanwhile, federal employees continue to navigate the turmoil of an administration determined to reshape the U.S. government at an unprecedented pace.
