Federal employees from various U.S. government agencies have received a request to summarize their work from the last week or face dismissal, as part of the final strategy of magnate Elon Musk, appointed by President Donald Trump to reduce public spending in the country. In an email with the subject "What did you do last week?", employees are urged to summarize their work in "five points" by midnight on Monday.
The message, confirmed by Musk, leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), warns that employees who do not respond will be considered to have resigned. This action comes after Trump publicly urged Musk to be "more aggressive" in his actions with the DOGE, in an attempt to improve government efficiency.
In contrast to Musk's threat of dismissal, leaders from various federal agencies, as well as unions, have instructed their workers not to respond to the email. For example, FBI director Kash Patel has asked his employees to ignore Musk's demands, as have other agency leaders such as those from the State Department and the National Security Agency.
After winning the elections in November, Trump appointed the DOGE to eliminate bureaucracy, placing Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy at the forefront. Although Ramaswamy later distanced himself from the agency, Musk has led the process of massive layoffs of public officials since Trump took office in January. The entrepreneur has claimed that the management of the DOGE is transparent, despite criticisms from the opposition.
So far, the DOGE and Musk have overseen the disappearance of entities such as the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), responsible for overseeing Wall Street and protecting consumers.
In conclusion, pressure is mounting on federal employees amid this new strategy implemented by Musk to assess the efficiency of their work and reduce public spending, which has generated tensions in the workplace across various U.S. government agencies.
