Trump Supports Musk’s Controversial Demands for Federal Employees

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is backing Elon Musk‘s directive demanding federal employees report their recent accomplishments or face termination. The deadline for the submissions is set for Monday night, leading to confusion among agency officials who have been advised that compliance is voluntary.

The announcement has ignited turmoil within the federal workforce, with employees expressing anger and concern over potential job loss. During an Oval Office meeting, Trump described Musk’s initiative as a mechanism to assess employee performance. “What he’s doing is saying, u2018Are you actually working?u2019 and if you don’t answer, you’re sort of semi-fired or you’re fired. A lot of people aren’t answering because they don’t even exist,” Trump stated.

Trump claimed that Musk has discovered “hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud” within the government, alleging that many federal paychecks are being issued to non-existent employees. However, he did not present any supporting evidence for these assertions.

As the situation unfolded, the Office of Personnel Management indicated that compliance with Musk’s request was not mandatory. A source familiar with internal communications confirmed that agency leaders were informed that their workers were not required to meet the impending deadline.

Confusion over the conflicting directives has led to variable guidance for federal employees across different departments. Some were instructed to respond with a list of five accomplishments from the previous week, while others were told that the request was optional or advised outright not to respond.

Federal employees have begun to take legal action against Musk, arguing that his threats to terminate them if they do not comply with the request constitutes unlawful conduct. An updated lawsuit was filed in federal court in California, which claims Musk’s demands represent “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country,” according to attorneys representing a coalition of unions and advocacy groups.

Musk, unperturbed by the backlash, asserted that federal employees should embrace accountability. He reiterated the potential consequences, posting on social media platform X, “Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”

In response to the unfolding chaos, several entities, including the Office of Special Counsel, expressed concerns about the legality of layoffs occurring amid Musk’s initiative. There have also been reports of Trump attempting to remove the office’s leader, Hampton Dellinger, as legal disputes escalate.

Resistance to Musk’s demands has also emerged from within the administration itself. Notably, some senior officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, have advised employees to refrain from responding to Musk’s request, citing privacy and security considerations.

Trump dismissed the notion of any rift between administration officials and Musk, asserting that the idea of compliance was seen broadly as a sound approach. “Everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea,” Trump added.

The origins of this controversy trace back to a weekend social media post from Trump praising Musk’s management and calling for a more aggressive approach. Musk responded by detailing the email demands he planned to send to federal employees, which included the warning that failure to comply would be treated as a resignation.

The Office of Personnel Management later issued its own email requesting accomplishments from federal employees but did not mention impending job loss consequences for noncompliance.

As agencies grapple with the fallout of Musk’s demands, there remains significant uncertainty regarding the extent of potential workforce reductions and job security for thousands of federal employees across the nation.