Federal Staff Given ‘Another Chance’ To Justify Existence In Email

Federal workers who failed to respond to the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) productivity check-in email will have “another chance” to reply before facing termination, Elon Musk said Monday.

Federal agency employees received an email Saturday instructing them to outline five things they accomplished in the past week, with Musk warning that “failure to respond” by the 11:59 p.m. Monday deadline “will be taken as a resignation.” After multiple agencies directed staff to ignore the ultimatum, some citing security concerns, Musk said federal employees would have a reprieve in an X post Monday evening.

“Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance,” Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), wrote. “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”

The directive was among the first clashes between DOGE and President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, with several agencies — including the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence — reportedly instructing staff to disregard the email due to the sensitive nature of agency work. HHS sent an agency-wide email warning that “malign foreign actors” could intercept their responses, according to NBC News. The Pentagon seemed similarly reluctant to comply, insisting it would “conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures” in an X post Sunday.

OPM then reportedly clarified Monday afternoon that replying to the email was “voluntary” and that a “non-response to the email does not equate to a resignation” in an email to agencies obtained by The Hill. The president added to the conflicting messaging Monday afternoon, echoing Musk’s stance on the directive in an Oval Office meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.