Washington — The Trump administration’s efforts to cut down the government’s civilian workforce have caused chaos and tension within federal agencies. The latest development in this campaign is a demand by President Donald Trump’s adviser, Elon Musk, for employees to list their accomplishments in the last week or face termination.
Multiple U.S. federal agencies, including the FBI and State Department, have instructed their employees not to respond immediately to Musk’s demand. In an email to staff, FBI Director Kash Patel, a Trump appointee, stated that the FBI is in charge of all review processes and that employees should not respond outside of their chains of command.
Musk, the world’s richest person, leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has already laid off over 20,000 workers and offered buyouts to another 75,000 in the first weeks of Trump’s administration. This has affected various government agencies, from the Defense Department to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where all staff have been ordered to halt work.
The rapid pace of these cuts has led to some hasty decisions, such as rehiring workers who perform critical functions like securing the nation’s nuclear arsenal and fighting the bird flu outbreak. This outbreak has caused egg prices to spike, highlighting the importance of these workers and the need for a more thoughtful approach to government reform.
While there is bipartisan agreement that the U.S. government, with its $36 trillion debt, could benefit from reform, Musk’s approach has drawn widespread criticism. Even voters in some Republican areas have expressed their disapproval.
On Saturday evening, federal workers received an email instructing them to detail their work from the previous week by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday (0459 GMT Tuesday). This email came from a human resources address in the Office of Personnel Management, but did not include Musk’s threat of termination. However, workers at various departments, including Defense, Homeland Security, Education, and Commerce, as well as at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Internal Revenue Service, were told not to respond until further guidance is given.
This sudden and irregular demand has left many employees confused and frustrated. A senior executive at the National Centers for Environmental Information, an agency under the Commerce Department, wrote in an email that this move is unexpected and warrants further validation.
Some officials, however, have welcomed Musk’s approach. Ed Martin, Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., who is currently serving in an interim capacity, praised Musk and DOGE in an email response. But other offices within the Justice Department, including the executive office that supports all U.S. attorneys and the department’s civil division, have instructed employees not to reply until further information is provided.
Employees at the Drug Enforcement Administration, part of the Justice Department, were told to respond, according to an email seen by Reuters.
The largest federal workers’ union, the American Federation of Government Employees, has expressed its concerns about Musk’s authority to fire employees who do not respond. The union has formally requested that the Office of Personnel Management rescind the email. In the meantime, they have advised members to ask their supervisors directly for guidance on how to respond.
This email has only added to the uncertainty and worry that federal workers have been facing for weeks. One IRS employee told Reuters, “I really wonder when someone is going to say enough.”
Requests for comments from media offices at the Commerce, Justice, Education, and Treasury departments, as well as at the FDIC and NIH, have gone unanswered. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment, and a State Department spokesperson referred questions to the White House.
Musk has defended his demand, stating on social media that it is a “very basic pulse check.” However, Senator John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, has urged Musk to take a more compassionate approach. He stated on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” “If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it’s please put a dose of compassion in this. These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages. It’s a false narrative to say we have to cut, and you have to be cruel to do it as well.”
Even employees within the federal judiciary, including judges, have received the email from the Office of Personnel Management, despite the fact that the court system is not part of the executive branch. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has confirmed that the judiciary has advised employees
