Musk says all US govt staff must justify their work or lose jobs
WASHINGTON: Elon Musk, the billionaire advisor to Donald Trump, stated on Saturday that all US federal employees must justify their work or risk losing their jobs, following the president's call for more aggressive government spending cuts.
Musk — recognised as the world's richest person and Trump's largest donor — has spearheaded efforts to reduce the government workforce significantly. "All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting details of what they accomplished last week. Failure to respond will be treated as a resignation," Musk announced.
According to a copy of the email provided to AFP, federal workers were instructed to submit 'approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week.' The email originated from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with the subject line "What did you do last week?". The deadline for response was set for 11:59 pm on Monday, though the message did not specify that failure to respond would result in termination.
The OPM did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on Saturday evening.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal employees, vowed to challenge any unlawful terminations in a statement from national president Everett Kelley. Kelley criticised Musk and the Trump administration, stating that the move demonstrated 'their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people.'
"It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life," Kelley added.
Several federal employees informed AFP that their agencies advised them not to respond to the email and to await further instructions, a recommendation echoed by the National Treasury Employees Union. "I have so much work to do, I am not going to neglect actual patient care for this drama," a physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs who received the email told AFP.
Musk later seemed to downplay the request's requirements, writing on X that the bar is 'very low' and adding, "An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable!"
More aggressive
Earlier on Saturday, Trump praised Musk's efforts on his Truth Social platform, saying, "Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive. Remember, we have a country to save."
Trump has appointed Musk to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory body, tasking him with reducing public spending and tackling alleged waste and corruption.
In the latest cuts announced on Friday, the US Department of Defense will reduce its civilian workforce by at least 5% starting next week. The Trump administration has already begun dismissing numerous federal workers on probationary status.
DOGE, run by Musk, has faced pushback and mixed court rulings regarding its cost-cutting measures. A judge on Thursday denied a union bid to temporarily halt the dismissal of thousands of workers.
Musk stated this week that he would collaborate with Trump for as long as he "can be helpful," and the pair dismissed concerns about conflicts of interest due to Musk's government contracts. "Elon is doing a great job," Trump told a gathering of conservative activists on Saturday, listing what he claimed were "some of the flagrant scams" uncovered.
"We love Elon, don't we? He's a character," Trump added. "People asked, what official position does he have? I said, 'Patriot'."
Musk said this week that DOGE is publicising its actions on its website, and that the transparency would hold him accountable.
By RS/AFP
