Turmoil within US federal workforce amid conflicting directives, but Trump backs Musk

President Donald Trump backed Elon Musk's demand that federal employees explain their recent accomplishments by the end of Monday or risk getting fired, even as government agency officials were told that compliance with Musk's edict was voluntary.

Confusion and anger over the situation spawned new litigation and added to turmoil within the federal workforce.

“What he's doing is saying, ‘Are you actually working?'” Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. “And then, if you don't answer, like, you're sort of semi-fired or you're fired, because a lot of people aren't answering because they don't even exist.”

Also Read: FBI and other key US agencies snub Musk’s ‘what you did last week’ diktat

The Republican president said Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has found “hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud” as he suggested that federal paychecks are going to nonexistent employees.

He did not present evidence for his claims.

Even as Trump and Musk pressed their case, the Office of Personnel Management informed agency leaders that their workers were not required to respond by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters.

Conflicting directives

The conflicting directives led to varying advice for federal employees, depending on where they work. Some were told to answer the request for a list of five things that they did last week, others were informed it was optional, and others were directed not to answer at all.

Musk bristled at resistance, saying federal workers “hate even the tiniest amount of accountability." He continued to threaten firings hours after employees were told that they didn't need to comply with his demands.

“Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance," he posted on X, his social media platform. “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”

Pushback from federal workers

Attorneys representing unions, businesses, veterans, and conservation organisations filed an updated lawsuit in federal court in California on Monday, arguing that Musk had violated the law by threatening mass firings.

The lawsuit, spearheaded by the State Democracy Defenders Fund, called it “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”

Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, criticised the litigation by saying “in the time it took these employees on taxpayer-funded salaries to file a frivolous lawsuit, they could have briefly recapped their accomplishments to their managers, as is common in the private sector, 100 times over.”

Also Read: Musk gives all federal workers 48 hours to explain what they did last week

Musk is leading Trump's efforts to overhaul and downsize the federal government. They've urged employees to resign, directed agencies to lay off probationary workers, and halted work at some agencies altogether.

There has been pushback in protests around Washington and from within the government. The Office of Special Counsel, a watchdog for the federal workforce, said on Monday that the firing of several probationary workers may be illegal. Trump is trying to fire the office's leader, Hampton Dellinger, in a case that has reached the US Supreme Court.

Dellinger asked the US Merit Systems Protection Board to stop layoffs of six employees, but suggested that many more workers should also be protected from losing their jobs.

Musk testing limits of his influence

There are also signs that Musk is testing the limits of his influence. Some administration officials — including some of Trump's most strident allies, such as FBI Director Kash Patel — have told employees not to respond to the email requesting five things they did, citing privacy or security concerns and noting that agencies have their own processes for evaluating employees.

“When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses," Patel wrote in an email.

It has been the most significant public divergence between the billionaire entrepreneur and Senate-approved Cabinet leaders who have otherwise been enthusiastic about fulfilling Musk's objectives.

Trump dismissed the idea there was any kind of split involving his most powerful adviser.

“They don't mean that in any way combatively with Elon,” he said, adding that “everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea.”

Also Read: Trump-Musk first joint press meet: Top 5 things they said

The latest turbulence began over the weekend, when Trump posted on his social media website, “ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE."

Musk followed by saying “all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week," and he claimed "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

The directive echoed how he has managed his own companies.

Questions about legality of Musk’s mandate

The Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, sent out its own request afterward.

“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager," the message said. However, it said nothing about the potential for employees being fired for noncompliance.

There was swift resistance from several key US agencies led by the president's loyalists — including the State Department, Homeland Security, and the Pentagon — which instructed their employees over the weekend not to respond. Lawmakers in both major political parties said Musk's mandate may be illegal.

Justice Department employees were told in an email on Monday morning that they don't need to respond to the request “due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the Department's work.” But employees in the US attorney's office in Washington were instructed to respond “in general terms,” leaving out case-specific or otherwise sensitive information. In an email viewed by The Associated Press, attorneys were provided with guidance about how to respond about the number of court hearings they attended, defendants they charged, cases they resolved or other tasks.

The Department of Health and Human Services told staff that “there is no HHS expectation that HHS employees respond." If anyone wanted to write back, they were directed to be vague.

“Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly," said an email to employees.

Education Dept workers directed to comply

Education Department workers were directed to comply on Monday morning.

“The email is legitimate and employees should respond,” wrote Rachel Oglesby, chief of staff at the department. She added that “frontline supervisors will evaluate responses and non-responses.”

Charles Ezell, the acting director of OPM, suggested that Musk's request may lead to new expectations for employees. Officials “may consider incorporating an expectation that employees submit weekly accomplishments bullets," he wrote in an email to staff.

Also Read: Boston: Hundreds march in protest against Trump and Musk

Thousands of government employees have already been forced out of the federal workforce — either by being fired or through a “deferred resignation offer” — during the first month of Trump's second term. There's no official figure available for the total firings or layoffs, but the AP has tallied hundreds of thousands of workers who are being affected. Many work outside Washington.

Trump’s return-to-office mandate

Federal employees across the country, many of whom have worked from home since the COVID-19 pandemic, were back at agency offices on Monday (February 24) under President Donald Trump's return-to-office mandate.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading Trump's Department of Government Efficiency scouring government agencies for suspected waste, delivered a warning on Monday to workers on his platform X.

“Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave,” Musk wrote.

Lee Zeldin, Trump's new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said Monday on X, formerly Twitter, “Full-time, COVID-era remote work is DONE under @POTUS leadership.”

In a video he posted, Zeldin said average attendance at EPA headquarters on Mondays and Fridays last year was less than 9 per cent of employees.

“Our spacious, beautiful EPA headquarters spans two city blocks in D.C. across five buildings,” Zeldin said. “But our hallways have been too vacant, desks empty, and cubicles filled with unoccupied chairs.”

Some offices not ready for workers to return

It appears at least some federal agencies are not prepared for all remote workers to return to the office.

In an email to US Department of Education Federal Student Aid employees on Friday (February 21) obtained by The Associated Press, agency officials noted that some regional offices in Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco were not ready for workers to return. The message also noted that employees who live more than 50 miles from regional offices in some major cities would not be required to return to the office on Monday.

Also Read: Elon Musk is sleeping in new DOGE office in Washington DC: Report

“We should treat it like the first day of school — plan a little time in your calendar to get oriented, find your way around, and figure out how to connect in the conference rooms, etc.,” the email said. “There will, no doubt, be some who get lost or are late to class or have to scramble to find a seat because of a snafu.”

The email also noted that while some workers would begin reporting to offices on Monday, others would begin relocating back to offices in phases through April and beyond.

Logistical issues

Mike Galletly, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 4016, said the information technology workers he represents at the US Department of Agriculture across the country have been struggling to comply with the back-to-office mandate.

“For my bargaining unit members, it's been a whole lot of work scrambling to find hardware for people, monitors, docking stations,” Galletly said. “You have an office that up until this month normally seated four people. Now they have to seat eight people.”

The US Department of Health and Human Services is directing its remote employees to return to offices, even if they were hired into a remote role.

Federal workers with the department received the formal notice on Monday in an email that was sent to employees who work more than 50 miles from a regional office. It says they will need to report to an office by April 28.

The federal government employed more than 3 million people as of November of last year. That accounted for nearly 1.9 per cent of the nation's entire civilian workforce, according to the Pew Research Center.

(With agency inputs)