Elon Musk issued another controversial ultimatum to federal workers Saturday afternoon, instructing them to report their work accomplishments via email or resign.
Musk, the billionaire advisor to President Trump and unofficial leader of the Trump administration-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), first posted a message about the email on X, formerly Twitter, at 2:46 p.m. ET Saturday.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” said the post. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
The email, reviewed by USA TODAY, was sent to the worker with the subject line “What did you do last week?” Issued late Saturday afternoon, it demands employees “Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.”
“Please do not send any classified information, links or attachments. Deadline is this Monday at 11:59pmEST,” the email continued. It appeared to refer to the week starting Feb. 16, which was a four-day work week because of Presidents Day, a federal holiday.
Elon Musk gestures onstage as he attends the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025.
The email went out to employees at agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others, reported Reuters.
Contrary to Musk’s X post, the email did not mention termination or disciplinary action for employees failing to respond promptly. It is unclear what, if any, legal basis Musk would have for carrying out the threatened firings.
McLaurine Pinover, a spokeswoman for the Office of Personnel Management, confirmed to the New York Times on Saturday that the agency is asking employees to provide a brief summary of last week’s accomplishments by the Monday deadline.
She said the move was part of the Trump administration’s “commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce,” adding that “agencies will determine any next steps.”
Federal workers’ union promises legal challenge to threatened firings
Everett Kelly, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), called the message “cruel” in a statement issued Saturday evening.
“Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump Administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people,” he said in an emailed statement. “It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life.”
“AFGE will challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country,” he finished.
The development comes as chaos around federal firings continues to swirl in response to the executive order signed by Donald Trump on Feb. 11, directing the federal government to implement a “workforce optimization initiative” created by Musk’s DOGE.
Approximately 75,000 federal employees took buyouts before news of layoffs rolled in, though some have since reported the payments never came through. While there is no official count of how many workers have been laid off, it could surpass 100,000 workers, as USA TODAY previously reported.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Jessica Guynn, Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk to federal employees: Share what you’ve done or resign
