A new directive from Elon Musk is requiring all federal employees to account for their productivity or be considered resigned, marking a major shift in government workforce policy under President Donald Trump.
Musk announced on X that federal employees will soon receive an email requesting a summary of what they accomplished the previous week. Those who do not reply will be assumed to have left their positions.
Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.
Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025
This measure follows Trump’s executive order aimed at reducing government staffing levels. The Office of Management and Budget has been ordered to create a strategy for downsizing through efficiency improvements and natural attrition.
To be clear, the bar is very low here.
An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable!
Should take less than 5 mins to write. https://t.co/MTL1wyzaxd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
Since the order was issued, federal agencies have already begun making reductions. The Office of Personnel Management confirmed that nearly all probationary employees will be let go, including those in departments handling consumer protections, education and veterans’ services.
That would be a very impressive and long list indeed for you!
However, the passing grade is literally just “Can you send an email with words that make any sense at all?”.
It’s a low bar. https://t.co/D3AlfUfdeQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
At the Pentagon, officials have outlined plans to eliminate 5,400 civilian positions, while the Department of Health and Human Services has already dismissed about 3,600 workers.
Videos like this are all over TikTok, am I missing something here with the Elon Musk emails?
I feel like listing 5 things you worked on should be easy? I feel like you should be able to easily do that daily? Some jobs you have to. pic.twitter.com/PW8uomuiC4
— Sarah Sansoni (@sarahsansoni) February 23, 2025
Trump has praised Musk’s efforts in a Truth Social post, encouraging him to be even more aggressive in tackling inefficiencies within the federal government.
