WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a sweeping move to reshape the federal workforce, Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has ordered all federal employees to submit a detailed report of their weekly accomplishments or face potential termination.
The directive, announced via a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, comes as part of President Donald Trump’s broader initiative to reduce government size and spending.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” Musk wrote.
The Directive: What Federal Employees Must Do
Under the new order, all federal workers must:
- Submit a detailed report summarizing their accomplishments from the previous week.
- Deadline: By Monday at midnight.
- CC their direct manager on the submission.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirmed the policy in a statement:
“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.”
Agencies will determine what disciplinary steps to take if employees fail to comply, including the possibility of considering non-responses as voluntary resignations.
Trump’s Federal Workforce Overhaul
This directive is the latest move in Trump’s plan to reduce the size and cost of the federal government. Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has:
- Ended remote work options for federal employees.
- Offered voluntary buyouts to thousands of workers.
- Reduced the federal workforce by approximately 75,000 employees through what he calls “deferred resignations.”
At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, Trump praised Musk’s efforts:
“DOGE is now waging war on government waste, fraud, and abuse, and Elon is doing a great job. We want to make government smaller, more efficient. We want to keep the best people, and we’re not going to keep the worst people.”
Musk’s Role at DOGE: Slashing Spending and Restructuring
Since being appointed as the head of DOGE, Musk has aggressively pursued:
- Federal spending cuts
- The termination of probationary employees across several agencies
- Major layoffs in health agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Despite recent staff reductions, the NIH still employs more full-time staff than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic. Musk’s directive is seen as an effort to further streamline the federal workforce and eliminate positions deemed “inefficient.”
Union Response: “Cruel and Disrespectful”
The move has drawn swift backlash from federal employee unions:
- The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents over 800,000 federal workers, condemned the directive as “cruel and disrespectful”.
- The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) questioned whether DOGE has legitimate authority to issue such demands.
“Federal employees should hold off until they hear from their agency leadership directly,” said an AFSCME representative.
Unions have indicated they will challenge any terminations deemed unlawful or in violation of labor agreements.
