Cabinet officials caught off-guard and frustrated by Musk's directives to federal employees

Elon Musk is poised to attend President Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting, solidifying his influence within the administration—and the speed at which he has rapidly amassed it without being elected or confirmed by the Senate. However, Musk's moves to streamline the federal workforce and reshape government agencies in Trump's vision, including issuing sweeping directives to employees across government departments, have begun to draw the ire of cabinet secretaries and members of Congress.

The escalation of these grievances stems from a six-word directive issued by Musk that has sent ripples throughout government departments. White House officials insist they were not caught off guard by the email sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) at Musk's direction, which asked: "What did you do last week?" However, cabinet officials and members of Congress were not informed beforehand.

Sources say the email—and Musk's subsequent threat that those who did not respond promptly would be fired—surprised several agency heads and senior Trump administration officials, quickly raising questions about who has the authority to issue directives to employees in different departments. "A lot of agencies weren't notified, and it created some headaches," a senior White House official told CNN, noting that some agencies quickly notified the White House and their employees that responding to the email would be problematic due to the classified or sensitive nature of their work. One Trump administration official said the move has caused "displeasure" even among some cabinet secretaries, adding that the secretaries "are in charge of their own agencies and need to review themselves where there might be cuts that need to be made."

Part of the discontent stems from the fact that the secretaries were only recently sworn in (some have not even had their Senate confirmation vote yet), and they have not had time to thoroughly review their workforce or properly assess their needs before beginning to threaten terminations. Another area of concern is whether Musk could potentially terminate employees if they don't comply with an order that the secretaries themselves did not sign off on. The heads of the FBI, as well as the State Department, Justice Department, Energy Department, Homeland Security, and Defense Department, have all told their employees not to respond to the email, citing the sensitive nature of their work. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear yesterday that as a special government employee, Musk does not have the authority to hire and fire federal workers, and Trump will respect cabinet secretaries' decisions on how best to handle the email. "No one was caught off guard," Leavitt told CNN at yesterday's press briefing when asked about officials not being notified beforehand. "Everyone is working as a team," Leavitt said. "The President respects the decision of his cabinet secretaries to tell their staff not to respond to this email because they are doing so out of national security concerns and they obviously don't want to risk leaking classified information." Meanwhile, for example, those working in the President's Executive Office have been told they do not have to respond and are considered exempt from the email.

But the controversy surrounding the directive is the latest in a series of moves by Musk that have begun to draw the ire of senior administration officials, who sources say have expressed cautious skepticism about the way Musk is executing his priorities. The decision to issue the directive came as Musk and his senior advisors from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have been showing up at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where Musk has his own office, as well as at the offices of different agencies, asking employees what they do for the government. Sources tell CNN that Musk has near-unfettered access to the West Wing and often walks over from the EEOB without prior notice. He occasionally meets with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, but their staffs meet frequently to coordinate future plans. One administration official told CNN that Musk has a series of ideas that he "kicks around repeatedly" and considers having DOGE try to implement. According to sources, the email asking government employees to list the five things they did last week was one of the things Musk ultimately asked Anthony Armstrong—a banker who worked with Musk on the acquisition of Twitter and is now stationed at OPM—to move forward with.

In conversations with current and former Trump administration officials, many acknowledge that there may be bloat in the government, and they generally agree with DOGE's broader effort to eliminate waste and abuse. But they also expressed concern about the rapid "cut first, ask questions later" strategy being used by Musk. However, Musk has yet to touch the most important person's nerves: Trump. Sources close to Trump tell CNN that the President personally believes Musk is bringing the kind of disruption he wants to the government. He also appreciates the fast pace at which Musk is moving and has told those close to him that he doesn't want people to wait to take action, he just wants them to move.