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Reports indicate that high-ranking officials have told their departments to disregard a request for a report on weekly activities.
Elon Musk, appointed by US President Donald Trump as the government efficiency lead, reportedly met resistance from senior officials after asking federal workers to summarize their weekly activities or face potential termination.
Musk announced on X that the 2.3 million federal employees must outline their weekly work. He warned that failure to do so could be considered a resignation. Emails sent to federal workers reportedly requested five bullet points detailing their activities be submitted by Monday’s end.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk’s team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) created the request after Trump urged him to be “get more aggressive” in targeting perceived waste. The Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s HR department, distributed the emails.
However, the New York Times reported that some department officials instructed employees to ignore the emails, under the directives of Trump appointees. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard instructed her staff not to respond because of the “inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work.” FBI Director Kash Patel told employees that the agency “is in charge of all our review processes,” and instructed them to “pause any responses.”
The Pentagon had a similar response, according to the newspaper, referencing an email from acting head of personnel Darin S. Selnick. Employees at the Department of Health and Human Services received mixed messages regarding Musk’s request.
Musk was appointed as a special official in the Trump administration with the task of cutting government spending waste and fraud. Critics suggest his goal is to dismantle significant portions of the federal government, making way for corporate takeovers of related functions.
Trump has voiced his support for Musk’s endeavors amidst the controversy surrounding the weekly report requirement.
Musk dismissed the controversy, describing the email as a “very basic pulse check” and shared a meme that compared his job security threats to Covid-19 vaccination mandates.