Musk initiates a conflict of authority with agency heads through email — including those loyal to Trump
The reaction to Elon Musk’s “What did you do last week?” threat marks the initial indication that even loyal White House supporters are starting to assert their political influence against him.
TroibNews 
Elon Musk’s threat to federal workers over the weekend sparked widespread chaos and uncertainty on Sunday, prompting administration officials to quickly issue sometimes inconsistent guidance. This incident has initiated a power struggle between Musk and agency heads appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Different agencies provided varying responses, with some leaders advising employees to hold off on complying with Musk’s request for written justifications of their jobs, while others opted for silence or vague suggestions on how to address the situation.
This episode illustrates Musk’s philosophy of “move fast and break things” colliding with the established rules and regulations that underpin the federal bureaucracy he seems intent on undermining. It also marks an initial indication that even loyal Trump appointees are starting to assert their authority against Musk, an “unelected special government employee” whose influence largely derives from his closeness to the president.
“Elon Musk has no authority. He's not in the chain of command of these employees, so getting a direct order to do something or lose your job in some capacity when he had no authority to do that is something these agency heads are basically wising up to,” stated Mark Maxin, an attorney with nearly 40 years of experience in federal employment law, who has worked as counsel for labor relations at the Department of Labor under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
On Saturday, Musk announced on X that all federal employees would receive an email asking for a summary of their work from the previous week, with a failure to reply being interpreted as a resignation. Shortly after, employees received an email requesting about five bullet points detailing their accomplishments from the past week, due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday.
The situation resulted in considerable confusion among millions of federal employees who were uncertain about how to respond and whether their jobs were at risk. Leadership in some agencies advised employees not to comply immediately.
“No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command,” read an email sent to State Department employees, which was reviewed by PMG. Leaders at agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Justice Department, directed employees not to respond until further instructions were provided, according to those familiar with the situation.
Even Kash Patel, the FBI director and staunch Trump ally, told agency staff to “please pause any responses,” in an email obtained by PMG. Similar guidance was also reflected in communications sent to Pentagon employees that afternoon.
A spokesperson for DOGE did not provide a response to a request for comment.
The email from the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line “What did you do last week?” instructed employees not to disclose classified information. However, Maxin advised that sharing non-classified information that is protected for privacy reasons, such as personal identifying details about other employees, could still pose legal risks.
Maxin further asserted that Musk’s email likely infringes on several aspects of federal sector employment law, noting that employees are protected from being coerced into providing information. A threat of dismissal could be interpreted as coercion.
Legal experts generally agree that Musk does not possess the authority to terminate any federal employee, as federal workers have civil service protections, unlike those at his private companies, where Musk has laid off significant numbers of staff.
“I don’t believe it would be legal, and I don’t think he really understands right now how he will even do what he’s threatened to do,” remarked Michael Fallings, an attorney who specializes in federal employment law.
During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Sen. John Curtis commented, "I don't think this is a request that is that difficult," and urged Musk to adopt a more considerate approach. "We don't need to be so cold and hard," Curtis added, emphasizing the need for compassion and dignity.
Musk’s announcement about the email came shortly after Trump publicly encouraged him to “get more aggressive.” This strategy seems to have pleased the former president, as both he and Musk shared a SpongeBob meme on social media, humorously suggesting what bureaucrats’ bullet points might include.
Democrats and labor advocates condemned Musk’s directive as both cruel and illegal. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents a broad range of federal workers, sent a letter to OPM, calling the email “nothing more than an irresponsible and sophomoric attempt to create confusion and bully the hard-working federal employees that serve our country,” while requesting that the agency “rescind the email and apologize to all federal employees.”
“Elon Musk is traumatizing hardworking federal employees, their children and families,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “He has no legal authority to make his latest demands.”
Furthermore, some government employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed their offense regarding the email and the notion that their job performance could be evaluated based on a few bullet points. “This data call is such an oversimplification of our work; it’s insulting,” commented one FDA official.
"If I answer this little pop quiz honestly, most of my listed activities would be cleaning up the mess caused by DOGE and the administration," remarked a career staffer at the Energy Department.
Anita Kumar, Daniel Payne, Hannah Northey, Paul McLeary, Josh Gerstein, and Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
Different agencies provided varying responses, with some leaders advising employees to hold off on complying with Musk’s request for written justifications of their jobs, while others opted for silence or vague suggestions on how to address the situation.
This episode illustrates Musk’s philosophy of “move fast and break things” colliding with the established rules and regulations that underpin the federal bureaucracy he seems intent on undermining. It also marks an initial indication that even loyal Trump appointees are starting to assert their authority against Musk, an “unelected special government employee” whose influence largely derives from his closeness to the president.
“Elon Musk has no authority. He's not in the chain of command of these employees, so getting a direct order to do something or lose your job in some capacity when he had no authority to do that is something these agency heads are basically wising up to,” stated Mark Maxin, an attorney with nearly 40 years of experience in federal employment law, who has worked as counsel for labor relations at the Department of Labor under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
On Saturday, Musk announced on X that all federal employees would receive an email asking for a summary of their work from the previous week, with a failure to reply being interpreted as a resignation. Shortly after, employees received an email requesting about five bullet points detailing their accomplishments from the past week, due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday.
The situation resulted in considerable confusion among millions of federal employees who were uncertain about how to respond and whether their jobs were at risk. Leadership in some agencies advised employees not to comply immediately.
“No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command,” read an email sent to State Department employees, which was reviewed by PMG. Leaders at agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Justice Department, directed employees not to respond until further instructions were provided, according to those familiar with the situation.
Even Kash Patel, the FBI director and staunch Trump ally, told agency staff to “please pause any responses,” in an email obtained by PMG. Similar guidance was also reflected in communications sent to Pentagon employees that afternoon.
A spokesperson for DOGE did not provide a response to a request for comment.
The email from the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line “What did you do last week?” instructed employees not to disclose classified information. However, Maxin advised that sharing non-classified information that is protected for privacy reasons, such as personal identifying details about other employees, could still pose legal risks.
Maxin further asserted that Musk’s email likely infringes on several aspects of federal sector employment law, noting that employees are protected from being coerced into providing information. A threat of dismissal could be interpreted as coercion.
Legal experts generally agree that Musk does not possess the authority to terminate any federal employee, as federal workers have civil service protections, unlike those at his private companies, where Musk has laid off significant numbers of staff.
“I don’t believe it would be legal, and I don’t think he really understands right now how he will even do what he’s threatened to do,” remarked Michael Fallings, an attorney who specializes in federal employment law.
During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Sen. John Curtis commented, "I don't think this is a request that is that difficult," and urged Musk to adopt a more considerate approach. "We don't need to be so cold and hard," Curtis added, emphasizing the need for compassion and dignity.
Musk’s announcement about the email came shortly after Trump publicly encouraged him to “get more aggressive.” This strategy seems to have pleased the former president, as both he and Musk shared a SpongeBob meme on social media, humorously suggesting what bureaucrats’ bullet points might include.
Democrats and labor advocates condemned Musk’s directive as both cruel and illegal. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents a broad range of federal workers, sent a letter to OPM, calling the email “nothing more than an irresponsible and sophomoric attempt to create confusion and bully the hard-working federal employees that serve our country,” while requesting that the agency “rescind the email and apologize to all federal employees.”
“Elon Musk is traumatizing hardworking federal employees, their children and families,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “He has no legal authority to make his latest demands.”
Furthermore, some government employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed their offense regarding the email and the notion that their job performance could be evaluated based on a few bullet points. “This data call is such an oversimplification of our work; it’s insulting,” commented one FDA official.
"If I answer this little pop quiz honestly, most of my listed activities would be cleaning up the mess caused by DOGE and the administration," remarked a career staffer at the Energy Department.
Anita Kumar, Daniel Payne, Hannah Northey, Paul McLeary, Josh Gerstein, and Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
