Civil servants resign if they don't issue weekly reports! Musk faces resistance from all sides, including Trump allies
Elon Musk's philosophy of "acting quickly and breaking the norm" has already shown conflicts with the federal government's bureaucratic system. Musk's demands immediately triggered chaos within the government, as U.S. civil servants began to worry whether their "jobs" were in jeopardy. FBI Director and loyal Trump supporter Kash Patel instructed agency staff to "pause any responses."
"What did you do last week?"
Last Saturday, U.S. special government employee Elon Musk announced on social media platform X that in response to President Trump’s directive, all federal employees would receive an email stating that failure to respond would be considered resignation. Subsequently, millions of federal employees received an email requesting them to "summarize last week's work achievements in about 5 bullet points and reply by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Monday."
This request immediately triggered chaos within the government, as U.S. civil servants began to worry about whether their "jobs" were in jeopardy. They also faced resistance from multiple parties, including Trump allies. Leaders from several agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Justice, instructed employees to delay their responses and await further instructions. Analysts pointed out that Musk's philosophy of "acting quickly and breaking the norm" has already shown conflicts with the bureaucratic system of the federal government.
According to media reports, FBI Director and Trump loyalist Kash Patel also instructed agency staff in an email to "please pause any responses."
Mark Maxin, a lawyer with nearly 40 years of experience in federal employment law, stated that Musk's email violated federal employment law in multiple ways, including coercing employees to provide information:
"As a non-elected 'special government employee,' Musk does not have the authority to directly order these employees or threaten to fire them."
Democrats and labor advocates condemned the directive as cruel and illegal. The American Federation of Government Employees wrote to the Office of Personnel Management, demanding the email be retracted and an apology be issued to all federal employees. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that Musk had "brought trauma to hardworking federal employees and their families," while an FDA official said, "this is an insult."
Nevertheless, Trump seems to be pleased with Musk's actions. On Sunday, the two posted the same "SpongeBob meme" on social media, mocking that the bureaucrats' work reports might include "complaining about Trump, complaining about Musk, barely making it to the office once, reading a few emails," and so on.
