Elon Musk’s DOGE email ultimatum to federal workers may have revealed internal tensions in Trump administration. Elon Musk’s email ultimatum to federal workers, sent as part of his supposedly unofficial role as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, is facing pushback from across Washington, D.C. just hours after it was sent.
And some of the backlash is coming from unexpected corners of the Trump administration, perhaps teasing early signs of power struggles to come. “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote Saturday afternoon. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”.
Federal workers received an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking, “What did you do last week?”. They were instructed to reply with five bullet points outlining their accomplishments in the previous seven days, excluding any classified information.
A deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday was given. Understandably, the email triggered confusion and questions about the legality of Musk's move. According to a White House legal filing, Musk officially has no federal government role or authority. The most strident response came from the FBI and its newly sworn-in director, Kash Patel. He sent his own email to employees to clarify where the bureau stood.
“When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.”. “The State Department will respond on behalf of the Department,” Nagy wrote. Supervisors at the Department of Justice also told employees to refrain from replying to the email, as they feared it could trigger ethics violations.
Two sources told the outlet that two U.S. attorney’s offices messaged workers that the support office for all 93 U.S. attorneys was trying to gather guidance from DOJ leadership about how to comply or whether the email was even legitimate. A notable exception to the orders to hold off on replying was Trump loyalist Ed Martin, who now leads the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington. Martin gave his staff the go-ahead to reply.
“DOGE and Elon are doing great work! History. We are happy to participate,” Martin told his office, according to an email he posted on X. “Please respond to the HR email carefully with regard to confidentiality and our duties. Be general if you need to. If anyone gives you problems, I’ve got your back. You’re good.”.
The Musk OPM email is also reported to have been received by employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One report suggested that some 2 million federal workers received it.
The country’s more than 10,000 air traffic controllers are already working mandatory six-day weeks of ten-hour shifts, the union said. The Post says that the official’s reaction to the situation was to send a reporter a well-known gif of the Muppet Elmo in hell, his arms outstretched while surrounded by fire.
One of the more fiery responses came from Senator Tina Smith, junior senator for Minnesota. She wrote on X, mocking Musk’s own questionable employment status with the federal government: “This is the ultimate d*** boss move from Musk — except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a dick.”.
She added: “I bet a lot of people have had an experience like this with a bad boss - there’s an email in your inbox on Saturday night saying, ‘Prove to me your worthiness by Monday or else.’ I’m on the side of the workers, not the billionaire a**hole bosses.”.
Musk's post on X and subsequent email came just after President Donald Trump praised Musk’s efforts at DOGE on Truth Social and encouraged him to go even further: “ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE.”. It seems like a lot of people think he might have overstepped his remit.
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