The nation’s capital, Washington, is abuzz as federal employees find themselves on the cusp of a looming midnight deadline set by none other than Elon Musk for the submission of reports detailing their recent achievements. This unexpected demand has sparked a whirlwind of emotions and debates among the government workforce. Both Musk and President Donald Trump have hinted at potential repercussions for those who fail to comply with the mandate, even going as far as suggesting that non-compliance could lead to termination. They have defended this requirement – a request for a list of five accomplishments from each individual over the past week – as a way to foster greater accountability within the vast government bureaucracy.
However, for many employees, this demand has brought about feelings of anxiety and uncertainty as the new administration asserts its authority over the federal government. Some agencies have advised their staff not to respond or to exercise caution in their responses, mirroring the cautionary approach taken after Musk’s initial request just a month prior.
Based on recent directives that have circulated, it appears that federal employees can anticipate a recurring need to provide lists of their accomplishments every Monday. With approximately 2.4 million federal workers – excluding active-duty military and postal workers – around 80% of whom are stationed outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the impact of this mandate is far-reaching.
At the Food and Drug Administration, employees were bombarded with three emails on the topic on a Monday, starting early in the morning and culminating in detailed instructions on how to respond later in the day. Similar guidance was issued at the Department of Energy, a crucial player in managing the nation’s nuclear arsenal, where employees were explicitly instructed to omit sensitive or classified information from their submissions.
Meanwhile, the State Department informed its workforce that department leadership would handle responses on their behalf, while the Federal Bureau of Prisons provided employees with guidelines to protect institutional security or operations if needed.
Although the initial call for lists of accomplishments was deemed optional by the Office of Personnel Management following Musk’s warning of potential layoffs, this time around, individual agencies are taking the lead in enforcing the mandate, including making decisions regarding hiring, firing, and disciplinary actions.
During Trump’s first Cabinet meeting of his second term, Musk framed the requirement as a simple “pulse check,” emphasizing the basic nature of the task at hand. “Do you have a pulse and two neurons?” he remarked. “So if you have a pulse and two neurons, you can reply to an email.”
Contributions to this report were made by Associated Press writers Matthew Perrone, Rebecca Santana, Matthew Lee, and Michael Sisak.
