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Federal employees were left uncertain on Tuesday after Elon Musk offered them “another chance” to respond to his ultimatum to justify their jobs or face termination, despite previous guidance from some Trump administration officials that the request was voluntary.
The contradictory directives have caused confusion across the federal bureaucracy. While some agencies, including the US Treasury Department, instructed workers to comply, others, such as the Pentagon, did not. The situation has become a test of Musk’s influence over US government operations.
Over the weekend, federal employees received an email asking them to summarise their accomplishments from the past week by Monday. Musk later posted on X, the social media platform he owns, stating that failure to respond would be considered a resignation.
As the Monday deadline approached, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the government’s HR arm run by Musk aides, told employees they could ignore the email. However, Musk, who has been tasked by President Donald Trump with overseeing a radical downsizing of the federal government, reiterated his stance.
“Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination,” Musk wrote on X late Monday.
The White House did not comment on Musk’s remarks. Before OPM issued its new guidance, Trump told reporters on Monday that workers who did not respond would be “sort of semi-fired,” adding to the uncertainty.
Meanwhile, OPM shifted its focus to senior civil service managers on Tuesday. Acting agency head Chris Ezel issued a memo requiring the dismissal of underperforming managers and instructing their superiors to evaluate them based partly on their support for the president’s goals.
The rapid developments have highlighted internal divisions within Trump’s administration over Musk’s aggressive approach. Even some Trump allies, including newly installed FBI Director Kash Patel, advised their employees to hold off on responding.
At the General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees government real estate, employees remained uncertain about how to proceed. On Monday morning, GSA’s acting administrator, Stephen Ehikian, directed workers to comply with Musk’s request. However, hours later, some employees received a message stating that OPM’s request was voluntary, though GSA leadership was still “encouraging” workers to respond.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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