An email blast was sent to all federal employees, asking them to list "5 bullets of what you accomplished last week" and to copy the employee's manager.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent the email, which came on the heels of some mild criticism of DOGE head Elon Musk by Donald Trump on Truth Social. He suggested Musk be "more aggressive" in his work to trim the government workforce.
Musk said on X that failure to submit a list of accomplishments would result in dismissal.
Needless panic ensued.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) spokesperson McLaurine Pinover said, “As part of the Trump administration’s commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, OPM is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week by the end of Monday, CC’ing their manager. Agencies will determine any next steps.”
This is a shot in the dark by Musk. Neither Musk nor Trump has the authority to request such a list or make continued employment in the federal government contingent on replying.
Some agencies involved in national security work are advising their employees not to respond immediately.
FBI Director Kash Patel told bureau employees Saturday not to immediately respond to the OPM email.
In an email to bureau employees obtained by CNN, Patel said, “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.”
Patel, like other department heads engaged in national security work, wants to wait and see if the OPM directive isn't voided on Monday by a federal judge.
Patel’s email came after senior leaders at FBI’s NY field office and other divisions told their employees to not respond, a person briefed on the matter said.
Employees of the National Security Agency were also notified Saturday that they should hold off on responding until they receive further guidance from the Department of Defense, a source said.
If the goal of the email was to spread chaos throughout the government, it succeeded. Perhaps Musk is trying to point out how many government employees do little or no work or useless work. If that's the case, he missed the mark. Who decides how much work can be "justified" or which employees aren't pulling their weight?
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, one of the largest government unions, said that his union would “challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country.”
“This afternoon’s ‘What Did You Do Last Week?’ email to federal workers across the nation should be called out as completely unAmerican,” said Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union.
"UnAmerican" for an employer to ask an employee to list 5 things he accomplished the previous week? Maybe in North Korea. Maybe in France.
Any judge in America would uphold such a request from any manager — as long as that employee was not a member of the federal government workforce.
The civil service operates by different laws and different rules than private businesses. Perhaps Musk should try to change the civil service laws first before trying for a mass firing.