Elon Musk announced a second chance for federal workers to respond to an email detailing their weekly accomplishments, threatening dismissal for noncompliance. However, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) clarified that agency leadership, not Musk, dictates consequences for ignored messages. Exemptions apply to many employees, including those on leave, without email access, or exempted by agency heads, including Musk himself. The OPM’s memo indicated a growing power struggle within the government regarding Musk’s cost-cutting initiative, which has faced pushback from unions and even Trump loyalists. Trump defended Musk’s actions as an effort to improve accountability in the federal workforce.
Elon Musk announced that federal employees will receive a second chance to reply to a government-wide email outlining their activities from the previous week and warned that any worker who fails to comply could face termination.
However, the federal agency responsible for sending the email stated on Monday that it is the agency leadership—rather than Musk—who will decide the consequences for those who disregard the message.
The conflicting instructions added to the confusion surrounding the “What did you do last week?” email just hours before the midnight deadline for responses. Musk, the billionaire and special government employee spearheading President Donald Trump’s cost-reduction initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency, reiterated his stance on Monday.
“Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance,” Musk posted on X late Monday. “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”
Nonetheless, the Office of Personnel Management quickly pointed out that many federal employees would be exempt, such as those on leave Monday, individuals without email access, or employees exempted by their agency heads. The departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security have all provided exemptions, as has the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Included among those exempted by the OPM memo is Musk himself. “At counsel’s direction, in order to comport with the Presidential Records Act, the Executive Office of the President is exempted from this exercise,” acting OPM Director Charles Ezell stated in a memo to federal agencies. Musk serves as a senior adviser to the president in the White House.
Musk’s escalating threats come amid Trump’s encouragement for him to be even more aggressive in downsizing a federal civilian workforce, which, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consisted of 2.4 million employees in January.
OPM had sent an email to these employees on Saturday, asking them to respond with five bullet points detailing their accomplishments from the previous week.
The pushback—from both inside and outside the Trump administration—further illustrates the growing power struggle between DOGE, Musk’s new initiative aimed at quickly reducing costs and trimming the federal payroll, and the Trump loyalists running federal agencies.
Musk’s endeavors have sparked protests from employee unions, Democrats in Congress, and even constituents in Republican-leaning districts. However, the productivity report mandate has elicited the first significant backlash from within the ranks of Trump allies managing the government.
Trump himself defended Musk’s initiatives earlier Monday, portraying them as a valid attempt to eliminate fraud and waste within the government.
“I thought it was great, because we have people that don’t show up to work, and nobody even knows that they work for the government,” Trump remarked on Monday during a meeting with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron. “There was a lot of genius in sending it.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)