On Saturday, employees of the federal government received an email from the Personnel Management Office (OPM), demanding an answer with “approximately. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week. On X, Elon Musk displayed that not responding “will be considered a resignation”. The result? Confusion, chaos and resentment among a federal workforce that feels more and more attacked.
“So fucking stupid,” said an air traffic controller who received the email and obtained anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The leaders of many agencies seem to have been caught off guard. At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which houses the National Weather Service, some managers initially warned against the response to email in case it was a phishing attempt. Another NOAA employee says they have been warned not to connect to their work email after receiving it.
Other workers have encountered contradictory advice from their managers. At the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which anticipates deep cuts orchestrated by the so-called Ministry of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), some employees said they were invited to wait for other advice while D “Others say that their managers have asked people to comply.
The email seems to have been sent even to federal judges. “We understand that some judges and judicial staff have received an email from hr@opm.gov,” read an e-mail from the Director of the Ministry of Administrative Services for the American Federal Courts. “Please note that this email does not come from the judiciary or the administrative office and we suggest that no action is taken.”
At least, some soldiers have also received the email and were invited to wait for advice from the Ministry of Defense. This retention model seems to be the answer in most agencies, where workers say they have not yet heard of senior management if and how they had to manage this last climbing in Musk and the continuous efforts of Doge for considerably reduce the federal workforce. At the National Institutes of Health, for example, in an email with the object line “please wait for advice”, some workers have been informed that “information is to come”, without any indication of when or of whom .
Another consideration for many is not only if they should answer, but how. While the OPM email has specified that employees should not send classified information, links or attachments, which seriously limits the way workers of many government agencies may be able to respond.
“National security personnel are informed of OPM’s request, which derives them from the important work to guarantee the interests of national security,” said a source, which has obtained anonymity due to the nature of their work. “These are essential employees who keep us safe.”
“The Executive Committee is currently examining this request to determine the appropriate directives concerning the information shared outside the agency,” reads an email from the Currency Controller office, which is within the Treasury Service. “Please wait for additional advice.”
NBC News reported On Saturday that even Kash Patel, the federal director of the investigation office, newly installed and close to President Donald Trump, asked employees not to respond to OPM email.
