White House says federal agencies control fates of employees who bucked Elon Musk’s email

In a recent development, individual federal agencies have been given control over deciding the actions to be taken against government employees who failed to respond to an Office of Personnel Management email requesting a bullet-point list of their accomplishments from the previous work week. A White House official informed Fox News Digital that agencies have the authority to determine the appropriate measures against non-compliant employees.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chair, Elon Musk, issued a directive over the weekend, instructing federal employees to submit a list of their weekly achievements, with a deadline set for Monday at 11:59 p.m. Musk emphasized that the task should take less than five minutes to complete and failure to comply would result in termination. Despite the simplicity of the request, a significant number of employees failed to submit their reports, prompting Musk to warn of potential consequences.

In response to the directive, some federal departments dealing with sensitive and classified information advised their staff to disregard the order. FBI Director Kash Patel, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security were among the agencies that instructed employees not to respond to Musk’s request, citing the confidentiality of their work.

President Donald Trump expressed support for Musk’s initiative, stating that it would help identify government employees who may not be fulfilling their duties. Trump highlighted the importance of ensuring that individuals are actively engaged in their work and praised officials who publicly disclosed their accomplishments in compliance with the directive.

Following the deadline, Musk shared a meme depicting Achilles with an arrow piercing his heel, symbolizing the challenges faced in reforming the bureaucratic system. Despite the resistance from some departments, Trump commended the directive as a means of promoting accountability and productivity within the government workforce.

The decision to allow individual agencies to determine the repercussions for employees who did not respond to the productivity email reflects a decentralized approach to addressing non-compliance. By empowering agency leadership to take appropriate actions, the government aims to uphold accountability and efficiency in the public sector.

Overall, the directive issued by Elon Musk has sparked discussions about work performance and accountability among government employees. While some departments chose to reject the request due to the nature of their work, others embraced the opportunity to showcase their accomplishments. Moving forward, the government will continue to prioritize transparency and productivity to ensure effective governance.