(CBSN) – Elon Musk issued a renewed warning to federal employees on Monday, February 24, 2025, evening, stating that they had “another chance” to justify their work or risk termination. His initial deadline for compliance passed later that night, but multiple federal agencies had previously instructed their employees to disregard his directive.
Musk, the world’s richest person, a close adviser to President Trump, and his largest campaign donor, initially required federal government employees to submit an email detailing their work achievements by the end of Monday.
His latest directive highlights the ongoing challenge Musk poses to government employees as he leads the White House’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with reducing federal staffing and expenditures.
“Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance,” Musk announced Monday evening on X, the social media platform he owns. “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination,” he added, without specifying a new deadline.
There was no indication of how many federal workers had complied with the original directive.
Confusion Over Compliance
Musk first mentioned the directive last week on X, prompting the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send a mass email on Saturday outlining the requirement. However, his renewed order on Monday night was not followed by a corresponding OPM email, raising concerns that many federal employees who are not active on X may not have seen his latest message.
The original deadline passed amid confusion, particularly as several federal agencies—including those led by key Trump allies—had instructed employees to ignore the directive, at least temporarily.
Among the agencies that advised workers to disregard the order were the Justice Department, the FBI, the State Department, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Conversely, the Transportation Department, the Education Department, the Department of Commerce, and the National Transportation Safety Board told employees to comply.
The office overseeing the directive, which required federal employees to document five recent work accomplishments, later informed executive branch officials that individual agencies could decide how to proceed, despite Musk’s ultimatum.
Two officials told CBS News that OPM—essentially the federal government’s human resources agency—held a call with personnel officers at federal agencies and indicated that it was up to each department to determine its response.
Resistance Grows Against Musk’s Cost-Cutting Mandate
DOGE has faced increasing resistance to its cost-cutting initiatives from multiple fronts, including legal challenges and pressure from lawmakers.
More than two million federal employees received the OPM email setting the Monday night deadline for them to submit “approximately five bullets of what you accomplished last week.”
The directive followed Musk’s post on X stating that “all federal workers” would receive the email and that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
As confusion spread, President Trump defended Musk’s mandate, calling it “ingenious” for exposing whether “people are working.”
“If people don’t respond, it’s very possible that there is no such person or they’re not working,” Trump told reporters.
Non-responders would be “sort of semi-fired” or outright dismissed, he added, without elaborating on what that meant.
Musk later clarified on X that the directive was “basically a check to see if the employee had a pulse and was capable of replying to an email.”
“This mess will get sorted out this week. A lot of people are in for a rude awakening and a strong dose of reality. They don’t get it yet, but they will,” he added.
Unions, Lawmakers Push Back
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employees’ union, swiftly opposed Musk’s directive, vowing to challenge any unlawful terminations.
Concerns have also emerged on Capitol Hill, including from members of Trump’s Republican Party, which currently controls both the House and Senate.
“If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it’s like, ‘Please put a dose of compassion in this,’” said Sen. John Curtis of Utah, whose state has 33,000 federal employees.
“These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages,” Curtis said in an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation.
Meanwhile, lawsuits challenging Musk’s threats and executive orders have yielded mixed results. While some requests for immediate injunctions have been denied, legal battles over his actions are expected to continue.
