Officials from multiple U.S. government departments have provided conflicting guidance to employees on how to respond to an email initiated by Trump's advisor, Elon Musk, requesting employees to list their accomplishments from the past week. This divergence in guidance highlights the public disagreement between Trump-appointed officials (managing thousands of civil servants) and Musk (as head of the so-called "Department of Government Efficiency") regarding substantial government spending cuts.
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02-24, 2025Some agency heads encouraged employees to cooperate, while others instructed them to await further guidance on how to respond appropriately. This followed Musk's post on his social media platform X, stating that government workers "will soon receive an email asking what they accomplished last week." As of now, former U.S. President Donald Trump has not commented on the email.
According to a copy of the email obtained by the BBC, employees were asked to respond in five bullet points by Monday midnight, explaining their accomplishments from the past week, without disclosing classified information. The U.S. federal government's human resources agency, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has confirmed the authenticity of the email. Although Musk claimed on social media that "failure to reply will be taken as resignation," the email did not mention whether refusing to cooperate would affect employees' job status.
The newly appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, stated in a separate email to employees late Saturday that they should "pause any response." Patel wrote in an email obtained by CBS News: "FBI personnel may have received an email from the Office of Personnel Management requesting information. The FBI, through the Director's Office, is responsible for all of our review processes and will conduct reviews according to FBI procedures." The U.S. State Department also sent a similar email to its employees, stating that its leadership would respond on behalf of the agency. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Tibor Nagy stated in an email: "No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their department's chain of command."
A senior official at the Department of Justice wrote to employees on Saturday evening, stating: "Media reports indicate that this email has been distributed to employees across the federal government." This suggests that the OPM's email may have caught many agencies by surprise. The email added: "At this time, we have no reason to believe that this email is spam or malicious." Subsequently, a follow-up email was sent later on Saturday, clarifying that the OPM's email was "legitimate" and that "employees should be prepared to follow the instructions as requested." The Department of Justice's email also included a warning to employees: "Do not include any sensitive, classified, or confidential information in your response. If you have any questions about what to include in your response, please contact your supervisor." "I will update all employees as needed if we receive additional guidance or information."
Other departments, including the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have also asked employees to await further guidance. The OPM has not immediately responded to the BBC's inquiry about whether certain employees might be exempt. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal employees, criticized the email as "callous and disrespectful" and vowed to challenge any "illegal terminations" of federal employees.
It remains unclear what impact the email will have on approximately 3 million federal workers who may not have access to their email over the weekend. Other government employees, such as those at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, were furloughed last month. The email was sent hours after Trump praised Musk's work on social media, adding: "I want to see him be more active."
Most Republican members of Congress have been defending Musk and his broader efforts. Representative Mike Lawler of New York told ABC on Sunday that Musk's efforts are a "comprehensive forensic audit of every department and agency of the federal government." But Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah criticized Musk's approach, although he expressed support for the ultimate goal of the Department of Government Efficiency. Curtis told CBS: "If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it would be, please put some compassion in this. These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages."
