Federal agencies are currently divided on whether their employees should adhere to Elon Musk’s directive requiring them to list five accomplishments from the past week. This divide has led to confusion as the deadline for responses approaches, according to emails viewed by NPR. Despite the rising uncertainty, late Monday, the agency responsible for overseeing this request indicated that employee responses are ultimately voluntary.
Over the weekend, departments such as Defense, State, Homeland Security, and Energy advised their employees not to reply to the government-wide “What did you do last week?” email, which was distributed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security’s guidance ran contradictory to earlier directions from leaders within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Initially, employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were directed to respond but received a subsequent email on Sunday evening to “pause” their responses pending further instructions. By late Monday, a third communication clarified that HHS employees were under no obligation to respond, and their employment would not be impacted by their decision not to reply.
Those choosing to respond were advised to exclude names of other HHS employees, details of ongoing projects, and specifics regarding any grants or contracts due to potential risks from malicious foreign entities. Other agencies, including the departments of the Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Commerce, and Interior, instructed their employees to reply, with various guidelines on the submission process while cautioning against sharing classified information.
These internal communications were shared with NPR by current and former government employees, who wished to remain anonymous due to concerns about retaliation from the Trump administration. By late Monday, OPM updated its advice to agencies, with messages circulated indicating that employee responses were voluntary and non-compliance wouldn’t imply resignation.
This updated guidance contradicts earlier comments made by Musk and President Trump, who suggested that not responding could jeopardize one’s job security. During a statement in the Oval Office, President Trump made an unsubstantiated claim suggesting that certain federal workers were not responding because they “don’t even exist.” However, he noted that agencies advising against responding did so “in a friendly manner” to Musk.
A senior official at the State Department informed staff that the department would manage its own response, emphasizing that employees were not obligated to report activities outside their departmental command chain. Similarly, Energy Secretary Chris Wright reinforced his department’s autonomy in performance reviews, mirroring the stance of the Defense Department.
OPM declined NPR’s request for comment or additional clarification on this issue. The ongoing situation has led to confusion among federal workers regarding leadership roles and directives. Despite assurances that responding is optional, some federal employees feel pressured to comply, fearing potential repercussions.
In the face of these concerns, various unions have taken legal steps, asking a federal court in San Francisco to prevent the Trump administration from dismissing probationary employees and soliciting responses to the OPM email. The lawsuit contends that OPM lacks authority over employees outside its own agency. A court hearing on this matter is scheduled for Thursday. NPR’s Tom Bowman, Geoff Brumfiel, Tamara Keith, Megan Lim, Hansi Lo Wang, and Jenna McLaughlin contributed to this report.
