Elon Musk again leaves its fingerprints on official communications of the federal government. In an email to the staff on Saturday afternoon, the staff management office, which is stacked with musk loyalists, told employees to send five chips detailing what they accomplished last week and CC their manager. “The fact of not responding will be considered a resignation,” wrote Musk on X.
This decision comes after President Trump announced that he wanted Musk to be more energetic. “Elon does a great job, but I would like to see him become more aggressive,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Do not forget, we have a country to save, but ultimately, to make bigger than ever. Maga! “”
“Go, Mr. President!” Musk replied in a job on X.
The note, which is closely like a note Musc sent To Twitter staff in June 2023, specifies that employees should not include information, links or attachments classified in their responses. Wired has confirmed that the employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an internal Revenue Service, National Institutes of Health and Federal Aviation Administration, which all process classified information, have received similar opinions. The deadline for responding is Monday at 11:59 p.m. Monday.
“They prove that their only objective is not effective but to dismantle democracy by traumatizing federal workers,” explains a current federal employee who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly about their agency. “They see it as a video game where they develop each time they hurt or eliminate a federal worker.”
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has dismissed thousands of probationary employees who have been in the federal government for only one or two years. The cuts initially struck hundreds of people working on nuclear security as well as on veterans and employees of the Ministry of Agriculture who are trying to ward off a pandemic of bird flu. The so-called Ministry of Government Efficiency has also frozen or tried to dismantle the United States agency for international development and the financial protection office for consumers.
It is not clear if the OPM has the power to force federal workers to resign if they do not respond to email. “I do not know that anyone can assess what is legal right now because the agencies which are supposed to act as childcare dogs are dismantled,” explains Laurie Burgess, a lawyer who has represented a certain number of Twitter and SpaceX in disputes. She noted that she had business to be heard before the National Council for Labor Relations this spring and does not seem confident that the board of directors will still exist by the deadline.
In January, OPM sent an email to federal workers with the object line “Fork on the road”, reflecting a musk ticket sent to Twitter staff in November 2022. OPM told employees to return to office five days a week, and that the government employs “reliable, loyal, trustworthy and who aim for excellence”. Those who did not want to comply have received a delayed resignation offer, that the White House has said that around 75,000 federal workers have accepted.
