Washington, D.C. – Widespread confusion erupted among U.S. federal workers following a controversial directive backed by billionaire Elon Musk, requiring employees to submit weekly reports detailing their work activities or risk termination.
The email, sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Saturday, asked federal workers to provide five examples of their tasks over the past week, without revealing classified information. Employees were initially given until Monday to comply.
However, just two days later, OPM clarified that responses were voluntary, leaving agencies to determine their own approach. Despite this clarification, President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the directive, stating that employees who failed to respond could be fired or “semi-fired.”
Elon Musk, who has been leading the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), doubled down on the demand, granting workers an additional chance to submit their reports while warning that failure to do so would result in termination. “The email request was utterly trivial… Yet so many failed even that inane test,” Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter), criticizing federal workers for alleged inefficiency.
The directive has sparked backlash from federal employee unions and advocacy groups, who have filed a lawsuit in California challenging its legality. Some agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and the FBI—led by Trump appointees—advised their employees to ignore the directive, leading to further confusion.
While the White House insists that all government agencies are working together under Trump’s leadership, conflicting messages from different departments have left many workers uncertain about their employment status. One federal employee, speaking anonymously, described the situation as “designed to drive us insane.”
As legal challenges unfold, it remains unclear whether the directive will be enforced or rescinded. The controversy underscores the ongoing tension between the Trump administration’s approach to government efficiency and the traditional operations of the federal workforce.
