Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s “justify-your-job” email to federal employees sparked backlash from within the Trump administration, notably from newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel. He instructed FBI staff to “pause any responses” to Musk’s ultimatum, which demanded a summary of weekly accomplishments from federal employees. Musk’s email, sent as part of his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), threatened job losses for non-compliance. Many federal workers were advised by their agencies to refrain from responding until further guidance was provided. Musk later minimized the demand’s severity, asserting that a simple response would suffice.
Washington DC:
Tech mogul Elon Musk’s “justify-your-job” mandate directed at US federal employees has encountered an unanticipated backlash from within the Trump administration, signaling potential power clashes ahead. The resistance originated from Kash Patel, who was appointed as the ninth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Saturday.
Patel has reportedly instructed all FBI personnel to “pause any responses” to Musk’s email ultimatum directed at federal workers, which he sent in his purportedly unofficial capacity as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“FBI staff may have received an email from OPM seeking information. The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is responsible for all of our review processes and will conduct reviews according to FBI protocols. When and if further information is needed, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses,” Patel informed his team in an email, as reported by NBC.
Musk’s Ultimatum
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump’s billionaire adviser Musk stated that all federal employees must justify their roles or face job loss, shortly after the president urged him to be “more aggressive” in cutting government expenditures.
“All federal employees will soon receive an email asking them to clarify what they accomplished last week. Failure to respond will be considered a resignation,” Musk announced.
As per an AFP report, federal employees were instructed to provide “approximately 5 bullet points of what you achieved last week.”
The email, originating from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), bore the subject line “What did you do last week?”. The cutoff for responses was set for 11:59 pm Monday, though it did not indicate that non-compliance would result in termination.
Musk — recognized as the world’s wealthiest individual and a leading donor to Trump — has been at the forefront of efforts to significantly reduce the government workforce.
Don’t Respond: Agencies Advise Employees
As reported by AFP, multiple federal employees indicated that their agencies advised them not to reply to Musk’s email and to await further guidance, a suggestion supported by the National Treasury Employees Union.
“I have a lot of work to do; I won’t compromise actual patient care for this drama,” a doctor at the Department of Veterans Affairs, who received the email, remarked to AFP.
Musk subsequently appeared to minimize the expectations of the request, stating on X that the threshold is “very low” and adding, “An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable!”