Elon Musk appears in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025...
Elon Musk, President Donald Trump's point person for eliminating what he calls government waste, renewed his threat on Monday to fire federal workers who fail to justify their jobs – despite the Trump administration stating that employees were not required to respond.
The U.S. agency overseeing federal employees said workers could ignore Musk's weekend email, which demanded they summarize their work or risk termination. The directive caused widespread confusion across the federal government and raised questions about Musk's actual authority within the administration.
As Monday's response deadline approached, Musk – whom Trump appointed to lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with radically downsizing the government – appeared to acknowledge that his plan had stalled.
"The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!" Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns. "Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers."
He added, "Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination."
The White House did not immediately comment on Musk's remarks.
It was unclear whether Musk was aware of guidance issued earlier Monday by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which informed human resources officials that employees would not be fired for ignoring Musk's email and were not required to respond.
The OPM memo stated that responding was voluntary and cautioned employees against sharing confidential, sensitive or classified information – a key concern raised by critics of Musk's directive.
Despite the guidance, some agencies still encouraged responses.
A senior manager at the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal buildings, told employees that while replying was voluntary, it was still encouraged, according to a GSA source.
Similarly, OPM's acting director emailed agency staff, saying responses with bullet points were voluntary "but strongly encouraged."
The Department of Health and Human Services advised employees that if they chose to respond, they should keep their answers general and avoid naming specific drugs or contracts they were working on, according to an email reviewed by Reuters.
"Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly," the email warned.
Musk's downsizing initiative, known as DOGE, has also impacted the broader U.S. economy, forcing companies that do business with the government to lay off workers and delay payments to vendors.
(With input from Reuters)
