{"id":2406649,"date":"2025-02-25T17:11:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T22:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-a-million-federal-workers-responded-to-elon-musks-email-directive\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T17:13:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T22:13:21","slug":"white-house-a-million-federal-workers-responded-to-elon-musks-email-directive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-a-million-federal-workers-responded-to-elon-musks-email-directive\/","title":{"rendered":"White House: A million federal workers responded to Elon Musk\u2019s email directive"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhite-house-a-million-federal-workers-responded-to-elon-musks-email-directive%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2406649&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The White House announced that\u200d over\u200c a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">million \u200dfederal employees responded<\/a> to Elon Musk&#8217;s directive to\u200b list five accomplishments\u200b from \u2063the \u2064past week. This represents about \u200bone-third of the \u200cfederal workforce, which consists of approximately three million employees. Press \u2062Secretary karoline Leavitt highlighted the compliance rate during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-extends-southern-california-stay-at-home-order-for-at-least-another-three-weeks\/\" title=\"Newsom Extends Southern California Stay...at...Home Order For at Least Another Three Weeks\">press briefing<\/a>, emphasizing that the\u200b task \u200cwas simple and rapid\u2062 to complete.<\/p>\n<p>However, responses\u2062 were\u2063 mixed across various federal agencies.\u2063 While \u2064some, particularly those involved in\u200b national security, advised their employees not to comply, others encouraged participation.\u200d The Office of Personnel \u200bManagement stated that responding to Musk&#8217;s email was voluntary, and not \u2063responding would not be seen as resignation. Despite this,\u2064 Musk threatened termination for noncompliance following a second request for responses.<\/p>\n<p>Concerns arose regarding the\u200c purpose of this exercise, with some federal employees expressing\u2064 skepticism about it&#8217;s value. Trump supported Musk&#8217;s \u200cinitiative,\u200d framing\u200b it as\u2062 a way to ensure accountability among federal workers. the situation has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-embassy-puts-out-bizarre-song-attacking-american-democracy\/\" title=\"Chinese Embassy Puts Out Bizarre Song Attacking American Democracy\">sparked confusion<\/a> \u2062and division within \u2062the federal workforce and across trump&#8217;s cabinet, with varied directives \u200ccoming\u2064 from agency leadership.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">White House says a million federal workers responded to Elon Musk&rsquo;s email directive<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2020333\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>More than a million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"federal employees\">federal employees<\/a> complied with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Elon Musk\">Elon Musk<\/a>&rsquo;s directive to list five accomplishments in the past week, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"White House\">White House<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I can announce that we had more than one million workers who have chosen to participate in this very simple task of again sending five bullet points to your direct supervisor or manager, ccing OPM,&rdquo; White House press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Karoline Leavitt \">Karoline Leavitt <\/a>said during the press briefing Tuesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I actually participated in it myself. It took me about a minute and a half to think of five things I did last week. I do five things in about 10 minutes. And all federal workers should be working at the same pace that President Trump is working and moving,&rdquo; she added.<\/p>\n<p>That amounts to roughly a third of the federal workforce, which is about 3 million. The response rate suggests workers decided to comply in an effort to avoid the threat of losing their jobs despite conflicting guidance.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I answered the email, but followed our agency instructions and only responded to my supervisor within the chain of command,&rdquo; said a federal employee who works at the Department of Commerce. &ldquo;Not entirely sure what the point of that exercise was,&rdquo; the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. <\/p>\n<p>The Office of Personnel Management <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3328837\/musk-federal-worker-email-sparks-confusion-divides-trump-cabinet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">told <\/a>agency leaders on a Monday afternoon call that responding to the Musk email was &ldquo;voluntary&rdquo; and that failing to respond would not be considered a resignation, according to a source familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Later Monday, Musk posted to social media that employees would be given &ldquo;another chance&rdquo; to respond to the email, saying, &ldquo;Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.&rdquo; When asked for further clarification, Leavitt said, &ldquo;The agency heads will determine the best practices for their employees at their specific agencies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump also backed Musk&rsquo;s directive, saying Tuesday that it was designed to determine whether some federal workers exist.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It says, if you don&rsquo;t answer, there&rsquo;s a penalty to pay,&rdquo; Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>A number of federal agencies, specifically those involved in national security, like the departments of&nbsp; Defense, State, Homeland Security, Justice, and Energy, defied Musk and told their employees not to comply with the request. Others, such as the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, told employees that responses to the email are voluntary and that nonresponses are not considered resignations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Leaders at the departments of Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, the General Services Administration, NASA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3327879\/agency-leadership-clashes-musk-productivity-email-demands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">instructed <\/a>their employees to comply with Musk&rsquo;s request.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Leavitt downplayed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/doge\/federal-workers-agencies-push-back-elon-musks-email-ultimatum-rcna193439\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reports<\/a> that Musk is planning to feed responses to the emails into an artificial intelligence system to determine whether those jobs are necessary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3328837\/musk-federal-worker-email-sparks-confusion-divides-trump-cabinet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>MUSK FEDERAL WORKER EMAIL SPARKS CONFUSION AND DIVIDES TRUMP CABINET<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t heard that from DOGE or from Elon himself,&rdquo; Leavitt said. &ldquo;Again, this is to ensure that federal workers are not ripping off American taxpayers, that they are showing up to the office, and that they are doing their jobs. That&rsquo;s what the American people expect, and it&rsquo;s a very simple task to complete.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I did it myself, and I was more than happy to do it because I&rsquo;m very grateful that I am serving the American people on the American taxpayers&rsquo; dime,&rdquo; she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2020333\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2020333\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over a million federal workers followed Elon Musk&#8217;s email request<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2406650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Federalworkers--scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32192,51088,48942,42358,32127],"class_list":["post-2406649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-elon-musk","tag-email-directive","tag-federal-workers","tag-government-response","tag-white-house"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Federalworkers--scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2406649"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406654,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406649\/revisions\/2406654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2406650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2406649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2406649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2406649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}