The Trump administration despatched emails on Saturday night to U.S. federal authorities workers telling them to element their work accomplishments from the earlier week by Monday evening or danger shedding their jobs.
The emails got here shortly after Elon Musk, the billionaire head of the Trump administration’s Division of Authorities Effectivity, posted on the social media web site X that not responding to the e-mail request could be seen as a resignation.
“All federal workers will shortly obtain an e-mail requesting to grasp what they obtained achieved final week,” Musk posted on X. “Failure to reply shall be taken as a resignation.”
Musk issued his put up simply hours after President Donald Trump posted on his personal social media community, Reality Social, that DOGE ought to get extra aggressive in its makes an attempt to downsize and reshape the two.3 million-strong federal workforce.
As of Saturday night, emails had been despatched to workers throughout federal companies, together with the Securities and Alternate Fee, Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention and others with the topic line, “What did you do final week?”
The e-mail, seen by Reuters, asks workers to answer with 5 bullet factors summarizing “what you completed at work final week,” and to repeat their managers.
It was despatched from a human assets handle from the Workplace of Personnel Administration, and provides workers till 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday to reply.
It’s unclear what authorized foundation Musk has to terminate federal staff in the event that they fail to answer his request and what would occur to workers that can’t element confidential work.
Some federal judiciary workers obtained the e-mail on Saturday from OPM, though the court docket system is just not a part of the manager department, individuals accustomed to the matter mentioned. The Administrative Workplace of the U.S. Courts, the judiciary’s administrative arm, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Employees on the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau additionally obtained the e-mail, in keeping with individuals with data of the matter. Nevertheless, most company employees had been ordered to not carry out any duties since early this month, making a conundrum. The company can be underneath non permanent court docket order to not resume mass firings pending the end result of authorized proceedings.
A spokesperson for DOGE didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
UNION PROMISES FIGHT
The AFGE, the union representing federal workers, mentioned in an announcement it should problem any “illegal terminations.”
“As soon as once more, Elon Musk and the Trump administration have proven their utter disdain for federal workers and the vital companies they supply to the American individuals,” mentioned Everett Kelley, the AFGE’s president.
The Trump administration’s fast-paced and controversial course of to scale back authorities spending by shrinking the federal workforce spearheaded by Musk and his younger aides on the cost-cutting DOGE has led to haphazard firings that resulted in quite a few errors and compelled a number of companies to rapidly rehire important workers, resembling these engaged on nuclear security, protection and energy era.
The primary wave of job cuts has focused staff who’re simpler to fireside, resembling probationary workers on the job for lower than two years or those that have began new roles inside an company.
The indiscriminate firings have led to DOGE terminating individuals whose jobs will not be funded by taxpayers and have begun to anger individuals throughout the nation who’re involved a few lack of companies and the impression of federal job losses on native economies.
Trump has repeatedly talked about Musk because the purposeful chief of DOGE, which isn’t a cabinet-level division, however the White Home mentioned in a court docket submitting this month that Musk had no authority over DOGE and was not an worker of this system.
Some federal companies despatched follow-up emails to workers advising employees not to answer the e-mail over the weekend as they assess its validity and devise a protocol for responding to the message.
“To be clear, that is irregular, surprising and warrants additional validation by administration,” mentioned one e-mail despatched to NOAA workers and seen by Reuters.
The Government Workplace for United States Attorneys additionally despatched an e-mail, seen by Reuters, to workers, advising them to attend to reply till they confirm the validity of the emails.
Some federal workers, already on edge after two weeks of mass firings, expressed outrage after receiving the e-mail.
“After greater than twenty years of working in federal service, which incorporates all excellent efficiency evaluations and one thing like 18 efficiency awards, somebody at OPM goes to learn my 5 bullets and determine if I’m productive sufficient?” a supply at a federal company mentioned.