In his capacity as head of the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ), Elon Musk made a new rule requiring federal employees to submit a report outlining their accomplishments from the previous week, or face possible job termination. The mission has caused controversy among some federal employees, labour unions, and Democrat politicians.
” This is a perfect option for large civil disobedience. Musk has no authority to enforce this”, Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL ) posted on X, encouraging federal employees to continue their work despite the directive.
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) also criticized Musk, calling it” the most outrageous poor director shift” and denouncing his lack of formal power over federal workers.
Musk announced on X that soon employees may receive an email asking for a breakdown of their regular tasks. He said that completing the report does not take longer than five minutes, and disobeying would be regarded as resigning. The Office of Personnel Management ( OPM) reportedly distributed the directive, setting a deadline of 11: 59 p. m. on Monday for submissions.
Trump has praised Musk’s efforts to find out about government incompetence and urged him to be even more forceful. Musk responded on X, stating,” May would, Mr. President”!
Musk defended the action, claiming that some federal employees contribute so little that they do not also check their standard email addresses. He further claimed that false practices, such as payments to nil or dying individuals, involve greater monitoring and accountability in national work.
Unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the American Federation of Government Employees ( AFGE ), pushed back against the directive. A section of the NTEU, which represents FDA workers, advised its members against responding to the request without receiving additional information.
Everett Kelley, regional leader of AFGE, condemned Musk’s law as rude to federal employees, especially veterans in legal service roles. He pledged to contest any unlawful dismissals that may have been caused by the mission.