In a bold move, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has issued a stern warning to federal employees, giving them just 48 hours to explain their recent work or face the possibility of resignation. The announcement came in the form of a tweet on Saturday, where Musk stated that an email would be sent out requesting details about employees’ productivity. According to sources, the email from the Office of Personnel Management was sent out to various agencies including the FBI and State Department with a deadline for response by Monday night.
However, experts have raised concerns about the legality of this demand as it lacks clarity and could potentially violate federal laws. This has sparked outrage from House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries who accused Musk of causing trauma for hardworking federal workers and their families. It is believed that this is not the first time Musk has taken such aggressive measures, previously requesting engineers’ code reviews through Twitter and considering non-responses as resignations.
In his latest crusade against inefficiency within government agencies, Musk claimed without evidence that he was rooting out fraud and unproductive employees. Despite some departments instructing their workers to wait for further guidance before responding, others have urged compliance with what they deem as a valid request. Unions such as American Federation of Government Employees and National Treasury Employees Union are advising their members not to respond at all.
As tensions rise between Musk’s demands and employee rights, organizations like National Air Traffic Controllers Association are calling it an unnecessary distraction from crucial work responsibilities. With only 48 hours given for explanation or potential resignation, many are left wondering what will come next in Elon Musk’s quest for government efficiency under his self-proclaimed role as “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE).