A federal worker has criticized Elon Musk‘s directive requiring employees to report their weekend tasks, likening the demand to “living in North Korea.”
The Context
It comes after Musk announced on X, formerly Twitter, over the weekend that federal workers would receive “an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.” He added that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
Since his second term began, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by President Donald Trump and lead by Musk, has recommended the firing of more than 200,000 federal workers, and about 75,000 probationary federal employees have accepted buyout plans known as “deferred resignations,” per the Office of Personnel Management.
What To Know
In a video posted to social media, a federal employee voiced her fears over Musk’s directive requiring workers to report their weekend tasks, describing it as “terrifying.” She said, “The feeling of absolute existential dread that I felt typing out a response to that email is something that I wish I could convey to everyone because it felt like such a glimpse into the reality that they are trying to create, and it was terrifying. It felt like you would do what I say or else.”
She added that while the email itself did not explicitly state that failure to respond would be considered a resignation, “the post on X did say that. And leadership at my agency is pretty much like the email is authentic, but we don’t know if the threat is or is not. We are going to respond, but kind of left it up to each of us to decide what to do.”
The employee condemned Musk’s involvement in federal workforce decisions, saying, “Like this whole thing is, it is an exercise for them to show us how much power they have and how little we have and how we must do what they say. And it’s so insane because again, who the f*** is Elon? Like, and how does he get to decide that he is the king of the federal employees, king of HR, um, at the office of personnel management. And he gets to tell us, send us email or you’re fired.”
She compared the situation to authoritarian rule, stating, “It felt much like I would imagine living in a place like what I always imagined North Korea to be like, would be like, um, where the energy is: Yes, master. Your wish is my command.”
Expressing frustration over the firings of experienced federal employees, she added, “These are people who have worked their lives to have the careers they have, who have gone to school for this, who have built a career over years, years, decades.”
After the video gained traction on social media, Musk responded by sharing a BBC report about North Korea with the headline, “North Korea: Residents tell BBC of neighbors starving to death,” and commented, “Out of touch with reality, to say the least.”
Musk’s X announcement on the weekend—as well as the subsequent email—sent agencies scrambling for clarification, with department and agency directors for the justice, defense and state departments and the FBI fending off the push and telling employees not to respond to the email or cautioned against replying to the request without guidance. Less than half of federal workers responded to the email, according to the White House.
The situation culminated in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) informing agency heads on Monday that compliance with Musk’s directive was voluntary.
The OPM update came just hours after Trump publicly backed Musk’s move, calling it a “pretty ingenious idea.” Trump also added that employees who failed to respond by the midnight deadline were “semi-fired or fired.”
Musk later defended his directive on X, stating, “My email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!” He went on to criticize federal employees who did not comply, writing, “Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers. Have you ever witnessed such INCOMPETENCE and CONTEMPT for how YOUR TAXES are being spent? Makes old Twitter look good. Didn’t think that was possible.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on Tuesday that the email was sent was to ensure that federal employees were actually working their jobs and declined to comment if this was a tactic to eliminate more federal jobs. The White House also claimed Trump sent Musk an email with five things he had done.
At a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Musk was forced to address confusion over his directive, describing the email as a “pulse check review.”
“I think that email was perhaps interpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse?” Musk said. “And if you have a pulse and two neurons, you could reply to an email.”
Meanwhile, he told reporters on Wednesday that the email was his idea after the president told him to “be more aggressive” with his cuts.
“I said, ‘Can we send out an email to everyone just saying what did you get done last week?’ The president said, ‘Yes.’ So, we did that,” Musk said.
On Friday night, federal employees began receiving another email requiring them to explain their recent accomplishments, the Associated Press reported.
The second round of emails will reportedly come from individual agencies with direct oversight of career officials, rather than the OMP which oversees federal human resources but lacks hiring and firing authority, a person with knowledge of the situation told AP.
An email received by some employees at two separate agencies from the OMP late Friday instructed employees to submit five bullet points summarizing their accomplishments and copy their manager. The email stated that weekly submissions would be required by Monday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. A version of the message viewed by the AP included guidance for employees handling classified work, directing them to simply write, “All of my activities are sensitive.”
What Happens Next
It is still unclear if Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have any power to terminate employees over the email request.
The post Federal Worker Hits Back at Musk’s DOGE Ultimatums: ‘Living in North Korea’ appeared first on Newsweek.
