In a striking move, U.S. government employees received an email over the weekend mandating them to outline their achievements from the prior week, or face resignation. This directive is part of the ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to reshape the federal workforce.
The email, which was sent shortly after billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, tweeted about an impending request for accountability among federal employees, stated, “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” Musk has been spearheading initiatives aimed at significantly reducing government spending through workforce reductions and budget cuts.
Details of the email request
The email, titled “What did you do last week?” and sent from a purported HR representative, arrived in inboxes following Trump’s address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government’s human resources agency, verified the authenticity of the email to CBS News.
In its communication, OPM requested that employees provide a summary of their weekly accomplishments by the end of the day on Monday, with their managers copied on the correspondence. The email instructed employees to list their achievements in five bullet points, explicitly noting that classified information should not be included.
Reactions from federal employees and unions
“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,” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, stated.
The union, representing the largest number of federal workers, condemned the email as “cruel and disrespectful” and pledged to contest any “unlawful terminations” stemming from this initiative. Meanwhile, newly-appointed FBI Director Kash Patel advised his staff to “pause any responses” to the OPM’s request, asserting that the FBI would manage its review processes independently.
Trump, in his speech at CPAC, criticized the performance of federal employees, particularly those working remotely, emphasizing that his administration seeks to eliminate “unnecessary, incompetent, and corrupt bureaucrats.” He elaborated on his vision to streamline the government, stating, “We want to keep the best people, and we’re not going to keep the worst people.”
Under Musk’s guidance, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has implemented wide-ranging reforms to the federal infrastructure with the backing of the White House. Recent weeks have seen thousands of employees from various agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Pentagon, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), being terminated.
Musk’s approach to managing employees mirrors his tactics from his acquisition of Twitter in 2022, where he issued ultimatums demanding extreme commitment or resignation. Trump has publicly praised Musk for his aggressive cuts to government size, expressing a desire for him to intensify these efforts.