In New York, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are facing a challenging task. They have been given a tight deadline of just over 48 hours to report on their accomplishments from the previous week. This move has caused confusion within crucial government agencies, all while billionaire Elon Musk continues his mission to reduce the size of the federal government.
Musk, who serves as President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting chief, telegraphed the extraordinary request on his social media network on Saturday.
“Following the directives of President @realDonaldTrump, federal employees can expect an email requiring them to detail their achievements from the past week,” Musk announced on a platform he owns. He also added, “Failure to comply will be considered a resignation.”
Shortly after this announcement, federal workers, including judges, court personnel, and employees from federal prisons, received a brief email. The message instructed them to provide a concise list of around five bullet points outlining their accomplishments from the previous week and to copy their manager in the response.
The deadline to reply was listed as Monday at 11:59 p.m., although the email did not include Musk’s social media threat about those who fail to respond.
The latest unusual directive from Musk’s team injects a new sense of chaos across beleaguered multiple agencies, including the National Weather Service, the State Department and the federal court system, as senior officials worked to verify the message’s authenticity Saturday night and in some cases, instructed their employees not to respond.
Thousands of government employees have already been forced out of the federal workforce – either by being fired or offered a buyout – during the first month of Trump’s administration as the White House and Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency fire both new and career workers, tell agency leaders to plan for “large-scale reductions in force” and freeze trillions of dollars in federal grant funds.
There is no official figure available for the total firings or layoffs so far, but The Associated Press has tallied hundreds of thousands of workers who are being affected. Many work outside of Washington. The cuts include thousands at the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Parks Service, among others.
Labor union leaders quickly condemned the ultimatum and threatened legal action.
AFGE President Everett Kelley called the new order an example of Trump and Musk’s “utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people.”
“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” Kelley said. “AFGE will challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country.”
Musk on Friday celebrated his new role at a gathering of conservatives by waving a giant chainsaw in the air. He called it “the chainsaw for bureaucracy” and said, “Waste is pretty much everywhere” in the federal government.
McLaurine Pinover, a spokesperson at the Office of Personnel Management, confirmed Musk’s directive and said that individual agencies would “determine any next steps.”
What happens if an employee is on leave or vacation? Again, she said individual agencies would determine how to proceed.
In a message to employees on Saturday night, federal court officials instructed recipients not to respond.
“We understand that some judges and judiciary staff have received an email … directing the recipient to reply with 5 accomplishments from the prior week. Please be advised that this email did not originate from the Judiciary or the Administrative Office and we suggest that no action be taken,” officials wrote.
Judges around the country got emails from Musk’s team in late January, apparently by mistake, U.S. District Judge Randolph Daniel Moss said earlier this month. Moss said he’d also gotten a message and ignored it.
The National Weather Service leadership acknowledged some confusion in a message to its employees late Saturday as well.
“Within the last few hours, some of us – potentially all of us — received an email message titled ‘What did you do last week?’ Until such time as we can verify that the message that was received at or around 4:46pm ET is authentic, please do not respond.”
National Weather Service leadership continued: “Thank you all for your continued support and dedication ensuring public safety and the national security of our country.”
Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein, Chris Megerian, Matthew Lee, Lindsay Whitehurst, Michael Sisak and Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed to this report.
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