WASHINGTON — Several major U.S. government agencies, including the FBI, the State Department, and the Pentagon, have advised their employees against meeting the recent request from Elon Musk, who is seeking details on what federal workers accomplished in the past week, emphasizing that failure to comply could result in job loss.
This reaction from officials appointed by former President Donald Trump signifies escalating disorder within the already strained federal workforce, occurring just a month after Trump resumed office and began implementing his agenda to downsize the government.
Administration officials were occupied over the weekend attempting to clarify Musk’s unusual demand, which seems to have support from Trump, notwithstanding claims from some legislators that it might be unlawful. Labor unions are urging the administration to retract the request and are considering legal action.
Responses within agencies are mixed, with some officials urging compliance, while others provide varying guidance. On Sunday morning, the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., directed its staff of nearly 80,000 to comply with Musk’s request, shortly after the acting general counsel, Sean Keveney, advised certain employees to ignore it.
In an email, Keveney expressed his discontent, mentioning, “I was personally insulted to receive the below email,” and emphasized the prevailing “uncertainty and stress” within the department. He raised privacy concerns, highlighting that some employee work could be covered by legal confidentiality and that safeguards for their responses had not been clarified.
On Saturday, Musk’s team had sent out an email to hundreds of thousands of federal employees, giving them approximately 48 hours to report five specific achievements. He stated that any employee who did not comply by the deadline would be at risk of losing their job.
Criticism of Musk’s ultimatum came from both Democrats and some members of the Republican Party, particularly following Trump’s encouragement for Musk to aggressively reduce government size via his newly established Department of Government Efficiency. Just a day prior, Musk had made headlines by waving a chainsaw at a conservative conference, symbolizing drastic cuts.
Senator John Curtis (R-Utah)—whose state employs 33,000 federal workers—voiced his concerns, urging Musk to demonstrate compassion in his approach. He stressed the human impact on real lives and stresses such as mortgage payments.
Representative Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) questioned the legal justification for potentially dismissing numerous employees who choose not to adhere to Musk’s directive, although the email did not explicitly threaten job loss. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) unequivocally stated that Musk’s actions were illegal and called for immediate cessation of what he termed “this illegal operation.”
Trump took the opportunity to mock the affected workers via a meme on his social media platform. The meme joked about what government workers had accomplished the prior week, trivializing their circumstances.
Kash Patel, the newly appointed FBI Director and a close Trump ally, advised bureau employees to disregard Musk’s request, at least temporarily. “The FBI determines all its review processes and will carry them out following established procedures,” he noted.
The interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, sent an ambiguous message, indicating that compliance could occur whether employees chose to respond or not. He mentioned support for agency personnel regardless of the direction they take.
Officials from the Departments of State and Defense demonstrated more consistency, with State’s acting undersecretary, Tibor Nagy, affirming that department leaders would represent workers’ responses. The Pentagon also recommended employees refrain from responding to Musk’s inquiry, asserting their internal procedures would suffice for performance evaluations.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees—which comprises 800,000 members—sent a letter urging the administration to revoke Musk’s original request and offer an apology by the end of the day. He remarked that employees are not obliged to respond unless given lawful directives.
In the initial month of Trump’s second term, numerous federal employees have already faced dismissal or opted for “deferred resignation.” While exact figures for layoffs remain undisclosed, reports indicate that hundreds of thousands are being impacted, particularly in regions outside Washington, D.C.
Musk characterized his latest demand as “a very basic pulse check,” insinuating that a notable number of government employees seem unproductive, even alleging occurrences of fraud among employees. However, he has not provided any credible evidence of such claims pertaining to fraudulent activities.
In the days leading up to the email request, both Musk and Trump made false assertions regarding Social Security funds being distributed to millions of deceased individuals over 100 years old. As thousands of federal employees gear up to exit the workforce, including both probationary civilian staff at the Pentagon and contractors at USAID, the situation appears to intensify amid ongoing tensions within the government.
Senators Curtis and Van Hollen expressed their views on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” while Representative Lawler made a subsequent appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
