US agencies push back against Musk job explanation order

Multiple US federal agencies, including some led by prominent Donald Trump loyalists, have pushed back against a move by Elon Musk to force employees to explain what they had achieved at work or risk losing their jobs.

Musk, reinforcing his demand on X, stated: "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation." He described the requirement as "consistent with President (Trump's) instructions."

FBI Director Kash Patel told personnel on Saturday to "pause any responses" and stated that the agency would handle internal reviews independently.

A State Department official clarified that "no employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their department chain of command."

The Department of Defense echoed these sentiments on Sunday, with senior Pentagon official Darrin Selnick telling staff via email: "When and if required, the department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM."

The White House has not commented on the controversy, but President Trump praised Musk's efforts, saying DOGE is "waging war on government waste, fraud, and abuse."

He further expressed support on Truth Social, writing that the Tesla billionaire is doing a "great job" in reducing the size of the federal workforce and should be "more aggressive in the pursuit."

'Cruel and disrespectful'

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) condemned the move, with union president Everett Kelley stating that it is "cruel and disrespectful" to force government employees, many of whom are military veterans, to justify their jobs to Musk, whom he described as an "out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire."

The union, representing over 750,000 federal workers, vowed to challenge any unlawful terminations.

Since taking over DOGE, Musk's team has aggressively cut thousands of federal jobs, with the administration claiming that 75,000 federal workers have accepted buyouts as part of what it calls "deferred resignations."

Trump also recently ended the remote work option for federal employees, warning that those who refuse to report to the office "will be fired."