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Some agency heads react to Musk demand
Some agency heads push back on demands for federal employees that Musk touted
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Senior Justice Department employees told staff Monday they are not required to reply to an email sent Saturday instructing them to document — at the risk of losing their jobs — five accomplishments from the past week, according to internal emails shared with CBS News.Elon Musk posted Saturday on his social media site, X, that failure to reply to the email from the Office of Personnel Management would be taken as a resignation. The email had the subject line “What did you do last week?”Though Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has been deputized by President Trump to oversee drastic federal layoffs, the sprawling Justice Department is the latest agency to tell employees to disregard the demand. “DOJ employees do not need to respond to the email from OPM. If you have already responded to the email, no further action is needed,” wrote Suzanne Belle, deputy director and chief of staff of the Justice Department, in a Monday morning email. Similar language was used in a message to staff sent by another Justice Department official Monday.At least one Justice Department agency had already directed employees not to reply to the OPM email. FBI Director Kash Patel said in an email to staff Saturday that they should “pause any responses.”
“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information,” Patel wrote in a message obtained by CBS News. “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with the FBI procedures.”The State Department, Department of Homeland Security and Pentagon also directed employees to disregard the email.The Pentagon also posted on X that, “The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures.”
Scott MacFarlane
Scott MacFarlane is a congressional correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting has resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.
