On February 22, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email to all federal workers asking them to send a list of 5 things they accomplished the week prior by Monday, February 24 at 11:59PM ET. The email was sent at the direction of Elon Musk, who also posted on his social media platform “X” that failure to reply to the email was considered resignation. This “no reply” language was not included in the email sent to federal workers.  (Further, the threat of firing workers who do not reply to the email goes against recent OPM guidance that says responses to such government-wide emails were “voluntary.”)   

The email, which was sent on a Saturday afternoon, created confusion among the federal workforce as several agency heads told their staff not to reply to the OPM email. This includes many government agencies that deal with confidential and classified matters, such as the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. While the email was directed to those who work in the executive branch, it was reported that the email was received by staff in the judiciary and legislative branches as well.  

Impact: Many federal workers have civil service protections, which prevents them from being fired without cause. By calling on federal workers to justify their work, the OPM email continues the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s villainization of the federal workforce.