A Trump Administration directive requiring federal employees to detail their work from the previous week has sparked pushback from multiple government agencies, according to CNN. Several major departments have instructed staff to hold off on responding to the request, which originated from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
CNN reported that both the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security have told employees to delay their replies. Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Darin Selnick wrote to staff, per CNN: “The Department of Defense oversees personnel performance reviews and will follow its own processes. If needed, we’ll coordinate responses to the OPM email. For now, please refrain from replying to the message titled ‘What did you do last week.’”
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting czar, ignited the controversy with a Saturday post on his social media platform X. “Per President @realDonaldTrump’s orders, all federal employees will soon get an email asking what they accomplished last week,” Musk wrote.
“No response will be treated as a resignation.” He later added on X, “We’re growing hopeful that cutting massive waste and fraud from Social Security and Medicare could boost citizens’ take-home pay and improve healthcare.”
Soon after, federal workers—including judges, court personnel, and prison officials—received a terse email: “Please reply with about 5 bullet points of what you achieved last week, copying your manager.” The directive has met resistance as agencies grapple with its implications.
