Donald Trump praised Elon Musk’s idea to make every federal worker submit five bullet points on their work from the past week. He even supported the idea that employees who don’t respond could be fired.
However, soon after, a government email told agencies that the requirement was voluntary, and no one would be fired for ignoring it.
Musk’s email was sent to 2 million federal employees, causing confusion and frustration. Some government officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, told employees not to respond. However, Trump called the idea “ingenious” during a discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The email, sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), arrived in inboxes on Saturday and caused uncertainty among employees. Trump defended the idea, saying, “We are trying to see who is actually working. If they don’t answer, maybe they don’t exist.”
Musk had posted on his platform X that federal employees must report their work or it would be considered a resignation. Trump’s comments suggested he agreed with this, adding to the confusion.
Musk, who helped fund Trump’s campaign, now leads the Department of Governmental Efficiency, which aims to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Trump linked the issue to his plan to inspect U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox, saying, “We’ve found hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud. Who knows if the gold is even there?”
Despite this, there is no evidence of missing gold, and regular audits confirm the reserves are intact.
Federal employees, especially those recently hired, are already facing job uncertainty. One Pentagon official called Musk’s email “the silliest thing in 40 years.”
While some government agencies told employees not to respond, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared his own work summary, following a major plane crash in Toronto.
Trump later clarified that agencies handling classified work, like the FBI and State Department, might be exempt from reporting. He insisted that Musk’s idea was well-intended, saying, “It was done in a friendly way.”
