Thousands of U.S. federal employees are now being forced to justify their work — or risk joining the unemployment line.
In a shocking new directive, federal employees were ordered to document their contributions over the past week as part of Elon Musk and DOGE’s sweeping crackdown on government inefficiency.
The move comes after President Trump offered some praise for Musk in a Truth Social post, but shared that he felt that the Tesla CEO could be doing more.
“ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA,” Trump wrote in a post on Saturday (February 22).
In response, Musk took to X to reveal how he would be putting this constructive feedback into effect.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote, before adding the ultimatum: “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
Per News.com.au, federal workers have already started to receive the email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The ominous subject line — “What did you do last week?” — hit workers’ inboxes on Saturday, demanding a reply with five bullet points outlining their accomplishments over the past five days.
Government Overhaul Under Musk’s DOGE
Since taking control of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk has already slashed nearly 3% of the federal workforce — amounting to 85,000 workers. The agency, given broad powers under President Donald Trump, has been tasked with cutting costs and eliminating what Musk calls “dead weight” in the federal government.
Trump’s decision to hand Musk near-unchecked authority has sparked fierce backlash, with critics calling it “unrivaled” and “reckless.” However, the former president has doubled down on his support.
Musk has since taken to X to share another tweet, revealing: “A large number of good responses have been received already. These are the people who should be considered for promotion.”
FBI Pushes Back
Despite Musk’s positivity, a White House legal filing has clarified that Elon Musk holds no official authority within the federal government, despite his sweeping influence over mass layoffs and agency restructuring, per The Independent.
The strongest pushback so far has come from the FBI and its newly appointed director, Kash Patel, who moved quickly to assert the bureau’s independence.
In an email to employees, Patel distanced the FBI from Musk’s directives, making it clear that the agency operates under its own protocols.
“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” Patel wrote, according to NBC News.
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Billions in “Savings” — But Critics Call Foul
The DOGE claims it has saved $55 billion in taxpayer money through job cuts, lease cancellations, and contract terminations. Trump has even floated the idea of mailing out a “DOGE dividend” — a payout to Americans, supposedly allowing them to “share in the savings.”
However, multiple reports have challenged the accuracy of those figures.
The New York Times reports that the $55 billion total is riddled with accounting errors, with some calculations inflated by billions. The agency has also taken credit for ending contracts that were actually scrapped during the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, CBS News exposed how DOGE triple-counted savings from canceling a $655 million USAID contract, listing it three separate times on its financial reports.
A Workforce in Crisis
As layoffs continue, morale among civil servants appears to be on the decline.
Of the 85,000 job cuts, around 75,000 accepted a buyout package, while another 10,000 were forcibly terminated — many still in their probationary period.
Adding to the pressure, President Trump has now ordered all remaining government employees back to the office full-time, a move widely seen as an attempt to push more resignations.
For those who remain, the future is uncertain.
Nick Gioia, who lost his position at the USDA’s Economic Research Service, told USA Today that civil servants like him are being vilified.
“What’s frustrating is that this administration has portrayed people like myself as the enemy to the American people,” Gioia said, adding that he and his former colleagues are being painted as “lazy, incompetent, low productivity” workers.
With Musk’s DOGE showing no signs of slowing down, those still holding onto their jobs now face an unsettling reality: justify your worth — or lose your job.
