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Federal agencies are gripped in a state of chaos and confusion after a memo issued by the government’s HR body on behalf of Elon Musk, ordering them to list their accomplishments by the end of Monday or resign.
On Saturday, Musk took to X, stating that “all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” in line with instructions from President Trump. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
Federal employees were subsequently sent a short but emphatic email by The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the government’s HR agency: “Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.”
OPM confirmed the email was legitimate in a statement to CBS. "As part of the Trump administration's commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, OPM is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week by the end of Monday, CC'ing their manager," it said. "Agencies will determine any next steps."
While Musk, co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, is keen to make his ultimatum stick, the following hours have been a cocktail of uncertainty and inconsistency for federal staff ranging from FBI employees to judges.
FBI & Pentagon tell staff to ‘pause’ as Musk’s HR memo sparks confusion
With a 48-hour clock ticking, federal employees enter the workweek with a looming deadline of Monday at 11:59 pm EST.
A handful of agencies have supported Musk’s unusual ultimatum, ordering staff to comply. Some have resisted the change, while others still have changed their stance throughout the weekend. Meanwhile, some unions and lawmakers – both Republican and Democrat – have questioned the legality of the order.
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The FBI, Homeland Security, and State Department were among those to advise their employees against responding to the HR agency’s memo.
“The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” wrote Kask Patel, newly appointed FBI Director and ally of President Trump. “When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.”
Jules Hurst, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon, similarly told employees to “pause” rather than respond.
Leadership at the Department of State and the Homeland Security Department went a step further to reassure staff, emailing employees to let them know that no action would be required and that agency leadership would address the memo directly.
Poor communication, no answers: Agency leaders struggle to curb uncertainty
With little to no guidance about the validity, security, and even legality of the order, not all department heads have delivered clear and consistent communication to their staff.
The Department of Health and Human Services was one of the agencies to about-face on its initial guidance. On Sunday morning, the agency told its 80,000 employees to respond to the email, despite an initial communique from Sean Keveny, acting General Counsel, advising some staff against responding.
Less than 24 hours later, by the end of Sunday, the agency’s staffers had been told to “pause activities” until at least Monday noon.
“I’ll be candid with you,” Keveney wrote in an email to his staff. “Having put in over 70 hours of work last week advancing Administration’s priorities, I was personally insulted to receive the below email.”
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The email also acknowledged that not all employees would be able to list their achievements due to confidentiality and security issues: “I have received no assurances that there are appropriate protections in place to safeguard responses to this email,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Ed Martin, interim US attorney for the District of Columbia, promised to deliver clarity in an email, but instead caused even more uncertainty.
“Let me clarify: We will comply with this OPM request whether by replying or deciding not to reply,” Martin wrote. “Please make a good faith effort to reply and list your activities (or not, as you prefer), and I will, as I mentioned, have your back regarding any confusion.”
Musk’s ‘pulse check’ latest move in Government downsizing efforts
The controversial memo and ensuing uncertainty come as the latest blow to federal workers currently the target of DOGE downsizing.
In the early weeks of Trump’s second presidential term, Musk’s department has offered a buyout to nearly all federal workers and launched a series of terminations across agencies and departments, targeting probationary employees.
The downsizing has not been straightforward, with some employees disputing the ‘performance-based’ rationale behind the layoffs. Meanwhile, the Government has been forced to recall some workers it mistakenly.
Musk, however, was eager to downplay his latest request, describing on X as “a very basic pulse check.”
“The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!” he wrote, shortly after suggesting that “a large number of responses have been received already.”
Without backing up his statement with any evidence, Musk went on to claim that some individuals are using “non-existent people or the identities of dead people to fraudulently collect paychecks.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal workers, promised to challenge any “unlawful terminations” made against employees.
"Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump Administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people," said Everett Kelley, President of AFGE.
