Government Workers Told Anew to Ignore '5 Things' Emails as Musk Intensifies Stance
Agencies and departments involved in national security advised their employees against directly responding to Musk’s initial request.
TroibNews 
The State Department has reiterated its guidance to employees, instructing them not to respond to Elon Musk’s emails requesting justifications for their work. This comes as the tech mogul, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, intensifies efforts to reform the federal government.
Late Friday, federal employees received the second iteration of Musk’s "what did you do last week?" emails, which ask recipients to outline their previous week's work in bullet points. While some employees got the email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), others received it directly from their respective agencies.
The initial email sparked considerable backlash, particularly among employees in sensitive or classified sectors. In response, various departments advised employees against replying, advice reiterated by the State Department early Saturday after the second email was sent.
“You may have received another email from the Office of Personnel Management asking for five points about your work,” read a message from State Department official Tibor Nagy sent on Saturday morning. “As a reminder, Department leadership will continue to respond on behalf of our workforce and employees until otherwise rescinded.”
Despite this, Musk has insisted that all federal employees must reply or face potential job repercussions. “The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch,” Musk stated on X on Saturday. “Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive.”
It remains uncertain how agencies that deal with sensitive information will react to the latest email. Organizations such as the Department of Justice and the FBI, which also handle classified materials, had previously instructed their employees not to respond to the initial OPM request. A spokesperson for the DOJ had not commented at the time of the inquiry.
The recent developments highlight a tumultuous week in the federal government following Musk's unexpected request last Saturday for federal workers to validate their roles to the Department of Government Efficiency. In the wake of the first email, agencies found themselves divided on how to handle the situation, with some Trump loyalists urging employees to disregard the request. The second email clarified that staff should avoid including classified details in their replies.
Musk indicated that failing to respond to the first email could be interpreted as “a resignation.” OPM's privacy policies had previously assured that participation would be “explicitly voluntary.” However, these rules changed on Friday, with OPM now stating that “the consequences will vary depending on the particular email at issue.”
It appears that the second email from OPM is just the beginning. The correspondence instructs employees to report their activities weekly on Mondays moving forward. These emails, which Musk referred to as a “pulse check” on employees, are part of a broader initiative by Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to reshape the federal administration.
Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
Late Friday, federal employees received the second iteration of Musk’s "what did you do last week?" emails, which ask recipients to outline their previous week's work in bullet points. While some employees got the email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), others received it directly from their respective agencies.
The initial email sparked considerable backlash, particularly among employees in sensitive or classified sectors. In response, various departments advised employees against replying, advice reiterated by the State Department early Saturday after the second email was sent.
“You may have received another email from the Office of Personnel Management asking for five points about your work,” read a message from State Department official Tibor Nagy sent on Saturday morning. “As a reminder, Department leadership will continue to respond on behalf of our workforce and employees until otherwise rescinded.”
Despite this, Musk has insisted that all federal employees must reply or face potential job repercussions. “The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch,” Musk stated on X on Saturday. “Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive.”
It remains uncertain how agencies that deal with sensitive information will react to the latest email. Organizations such as the Department of Justice and the FBI, which also handle classified materials, had previously instructed their employees not to respond to the initial OPM request. A spokesperson for the DOJ had not commented at the time of the inquiry.
The recent developments highlight a tumultuous week in the federal government following Musk's unexpected request last Saturday for federal workers to validate their roles to the Department of Government Efficiency. In the wake of the first email, agencies found themselves divided on how to handle the situation, with some Trump loyalists urging employees to disregard the request. The second email clarified that staff should avoid including classified details in their replies.
Musk indicated that failing to respond to the first email could be interpreted as “a resignation.” OPM's privacy policies had previously assured that participation would be “explicitly voluntary.” However, these rules changed on Friday, with OPM now stating that “the consequences will vary depending on the particular email at issue.”
It appears that the second email from OPM is just the beginning. The correspondence instructs employees to report their activities weekly on Mondays moving forward. These emails, which Musk referred to as a “pulse check” on employees, are part of a broader initiative by Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to reshape the federal administration.
Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
