The federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has notified government employees that they can disregard Elon Musk’s latest directive under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), marking a reversal of an earlier stance. Musk, a billionaire adviser to former President Donald Trump, had sought to enforce compliance by threatening to remove workers who failed to respond to an official email.
On Saturday, DOGE sent an email to an estimated two million federal workers via OPM with the subject line, “What did you do last week?” The email instructed all employees to submit “approximately five bullet points” summarising their accomplishments over the past week. This unprecedented directive left many federal workers scrambling to determine whether compliance was mandatory or optional.
Musk, taking to X (formerly Twitter) on the same day, posted a firm warning: “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” This declaration raised immediate concerns across federal agencies, leading to a wave of internal memos pushing back against Musk’s authority.
The initial email had set a strict deadline of midnight Monday for all responses. However, a follow-up email from OPM on Monday clarified that compliance was “voluntary.” This sudden shift indicated internal resistance to Musk’s demand, with over a dozen agencies advising employees that they were not obligated to respond. Despite his influence in the Trump administration, the world’s richest man does not have direct control over government personnel policies.
Defense Department Pushes Back
One of the strongest rebukes came from the Department of Defense (DoD), which issued a formal statement distancing itself from Musk’s directive.
“The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel, and it will conduct any review in accordance with its procedures,” stated Darin Selnick, acting undersecretary of defence for personnel and readiness.
Selnick further advised staff: “When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you received from OPM. For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled ‘What did you do last week.'”
This announcement made it clear that one of the most critical government agencies would not abide by Musk’s demand, reinforcing the message that federal departments operate under their own review systems, independent of Musk’s influence.
Agencies That Rejected Musk’s Email
Resistance to Musk’s directive spread across multiple government agencies, particularly those handling national security, public health, and regulatory functions. The following agencies issued internal directives advising employees to ignore Musk’s email:
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Commerce
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- National Institutes of Health
- Internal Revenue Service
- Department of State
- Department of Energy
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- FBI
- NASA
These agencies made it clear that Musk had no official authority over their personnel and that their review processes remained unchanged.
Agencies That Are Complying
While many departments rejected the order, some agencies fell in line with Musk’s request. The Department of Transportation, the Department of the Treasury, and independent agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) instructed their employees to submit responses as requested.
Adding to the confusion, Musk’s email was also mistakenly sent to White House political appointees, federal judges, and judicial employees. These groups belong to separate branches of government and do not report to the White House or the executive branch, raising further questions about the legitimacy and scope of the directive.
Tensions Over Musk’s Expanding Role
FBI Director Kash Patel, a staunch Trump ally, took a stance similar to the Defense Department. In a message to FBI personnel, he advised them to “pause any responses” to the OPM email
Patel’s message echoed Selnick’s wording almost verbatim, indicating coordinated resistance to Musk’s actions. Despite Patel’s loyalty to Trump, his response was widely viewed as a direct rebuke of Musk, who has wielded significant influence in shaping Trump’s second-term agenda.
Musk, who holds a “special government employee” designation under the Trump administration, has sparked widespread disruption in the federal workforce through mass layoffs and restructuring efforts under DOGE. Many of these layoffs were implemented hastily, with some employees later recalled after agencies realised the critical nature of their roles.
According to Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, the backlash from Patel and other agency heads may not indicate a broader rift between Trump officials and Musk but rather frustration with Musk’s unilateral decision-making.
“All these agency heads have a bone to pick with Musk going over their head,” Del Percio said. “What agency or company leader wouldn’t be mad if someone came in and sent that kind of email without consulting them?”
DOGE Struggles to Prove Its Effectiveness
Musk’s push to shrink the federal government and cut spending, a central pillar of Trump’s campaign, has yet to yield significant, verifiable savings.
At one point, DOGE’s website boasted about cancelling an $8 billion federal contract as part of its cost-cutting efforts. However, subsequent investigations revealed the contract was actually valued at only $8 million – a drastic discrepancy that further eroded confidence in Musk’s ability to streamline government operations effectively.
Additionally, some employees laid off under Musk’s directive were reinstated within days, including veterinarians at the Department of Agriculture tasked with managing the national bird flu outbreak response. These reversals raised concerns that Musk’s restructuring efforts were being implemented without fully understanding the operational needs of key government functions.
Trump Defends Musk
Despite growing resistance, Trump publicly defended Musk’s directive.
“There was a lot of genius in sending it,” the former president told reporters on Monday. He dismissed concerns over the follow-up emails, stating that they were “done in a friendly manner” to ensure that agencies handling sensitive information, such as the State Department and FBI, were not compromising confidential work. “They don’t mean that in any way combatively with Elon,” Trump added.
Labor Unions Push Back
In response to Musk’s ultimatum, a coalition of government unions took legal action over the weekend. On Sunday, they filed a request in federal court seeking to block OPM from enforcing the email directive, arguing that the government had failed to publish regulatory changes that would allow a non-response to an email to be classified as a resignation.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, condemned the directive in a letter to OPM acting Director Charles Ezell, calling it “disruptive to essential government functions.”
A hearing is scheduled for Thursday in a U.S. District Court in Northern California, where Judge William Alsup will review the request to block the directive. As of noon Monday, the government had yet to formally respond to the lawsuit.
Written by Dr. Florence Omisakin
