{"id":2406695,"date":"2025-02-25T18:59:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T23:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-administration-stands-by-musk-after-widespread-backlash-to-federal-email-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T19:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T00:02:09","slug":"trump-administration-stands-by-musk-after-widespread-backlash-to-federal-email-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-administration-stands-by-musk-after-widespread-backlash-to-federal-email-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration stands by Musk after widespread backlash to federal email &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"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\">28<\/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%2Ftrump-administration-stands-by-musk-after-widespread-backlash-to-federal-email-washington-examiner%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=2406695&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 Trump administration is firmly supporting Elon Musk following \u200chis \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">controversial email requesting federal employees<\/a> \u2062to list\u200b their accomplishments \u200cor face potential \u200cjob loss. This initiative has caused confusion\u200d and \u200cdivision within \u2064Trump&#8217;s Cabinet, prompting debates on its appropriateness. While some officials defended Musk&#8217;s\u200d request as a means to enhance accountability, others, including government leaders \u200cfrom sensitive agencies like\u2063 the FBI and State \u200bDepartment, advised their employees not to comply. Musk has publicly expressed frustration at those who did not respond, labeling \u2062their inaction as evidence of incompetence. \u2064Despite mixed reactions from Republican \u2062lawmakers and\u2062 public opinion, Trump and his \u2062administration have expressed \u2063their \u2062unwavering support for Musk&#8217;s efforts, emphasizing \u2062the need for efficiency within the government. Polls indicate a significant portion of the public is critical of musk&#8217;s\u200c approach,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wsj-joe-biden-is-losing-his-mind\/\" title=\"WSJ: Joe Biden&#039;s mental sharpness is in question\">reflecting broader concerns<\/a> \u200dabout his influence in federal matters.  <\/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\">Trump administration stands by Musk after widespread backlash to federal email<\/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_2018389\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> and his White House have made it clear where they stand in the debate over&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elon Musk&rsquo;<\/a>s weekend demand that federal workers list their accomplishments at work or face losing their jobs: firmly behind the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-government-efficiency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Department of Government Efficiency\">Department of Government Efficiency<\/a>&lsquo;s adviser.<\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s demand that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sean-duffy-accuses-democrats-of-playing-politics-for-criticizing-dot-firings-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Sean Duffy accuses Democrats of \u2018playing politics\u2019 for criticizing DOT firings - ...\">federal employees report<\/a> their accomplishments last week resulted in widespread confusion, splitting Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet and forcing its members to stake out whether they would have their employees comply with the entrepreneur&rsquo;s mass email. Musk has spurred divisions in the Republican Party before, including on the H-1B visa debate and in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/18\/us\/politics\/steve-bannon-elon-musk-feud.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"public spat\">public spat<\/a> with Steve Bannon.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>However, the Trump administration is vigorously defending the tech billionaire&rsquo;s efforts to purge the federal workforce in the aftermath.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I can name five things, five bullets in about five minutes of me coming into the office every day. If you struggle to do that for a week &hellip; there&rsquo;s no excuse for that,&rdquo; said Alina Habba, senior counselor to the president, who defended the Musk email to reporters at the White House Tuesday morning. <\/p>\n<p>The president himself reiterated Musk&rsquo;s warning Monday afternoon at the Oval Office: &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t answer, you&rsquo;re sort of semi-fired or you&rsquo;re fired.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Everyone is working together as one unified team at the direction of President Trump. Any notion to the contrary is completely false,&rdquo; said White House press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Karoline Leavitt<\/a> in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>At a Tuesday press briefing, Leavitt also pointed to Trump&rsquo;s continued support of Musk. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The president sent out a truth last weekend to Elon Musk saying he loves everything Elon is doing, and he wants him to be even more aggressive because DOGE, thus far, has proven incredibly successful in making our government more efficient,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>According to a White House office,&nbsp;DOGE&rsquo;s breakneck pace comes at the behest of Trump to portray an aura of efficiency, even internally, to the public.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3328837\/musk-federal-worker-email-sparks-confusion-divides-trump-cabinet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">confusion sparked<\/a> by the email comes amid increasing attacks against the Musk-led department, not just from Democrats but also more centrist Republicans facing constituent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3326561\/constituents-crowd-town-halls-complain-elon-musk-power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">backlash in their districts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It should not be Elon Musk&rsquo;s call,&rdquo; said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). &ldquo;I was glad to see the pushback.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Musk added more confusion when he posted Monday on X, &ldquo;Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. <\/p>\n<p>Failure to respond a second time will result in termination. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/04xzgScXfj\">https:\/\/t.co\/04xzgScXfj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1894177129887404484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>He also railed against federal employees who did not respond to the email, even though many were advised not to by Cabinet officials, saying the request was &ldquo;utterly trivial.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send! Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers,&rdquo; Musk said in a post to X. &ldquo;Have you ever witnessed such INCOMPETENCE and CONTEMPT for how YOUR TAXES are being spent?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s hard-charging handling of the federal workforce may have to be adjusted as he acclimates to Washington, said Sarah Chamberlain, Republican Main Street Partnership president and CEO.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Elon Musk is used to doing this in Silicon Valley, which is a little different than doing this with federal employees,&rdquo; Chamberlain said. &ldquo;I support the White House standing behind him because this has to get done.&rdquo;  <\/p>\n<p>The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;Office of Personnel Management<\/a>&nbsp;eventually conceded Monday afternoon that the email was no longer mandatory and that federal workers wouldn&rsquo;t risk their jobs if they didn&rsquo;t respond to the email. <\/p>\n<p>Some agencies that handle sensitive information, including the FBI, State Department, and Pentagon,&nbsp;also directed employees not to address Musk&rsquo;s email. Notably, newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel was among those who defied Musk&rsquo;s demands.<\/p>\n<p>At least 1 million federal workers responded to Musk&rsquo;s email, Leavitt told White House reporters while also clarifying the chain of command in the government.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The agency heads will determine the best practices for their employees at their specific agencies,&rdquo; Leavitt said at Tuesday&rsquo;s briefing. <\/p>\n<p>However, she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3329828\/white-house-insists-musk-not-head-doge-declines-identify-leader\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">declined to explicitly<\/a> name Musk as the administrator of DOGE after repeated questioning from the press. A White House official later told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that the DOGE administrator is Amy Gleason.<\/p>\n<p>Musk, who is not a Senate-confirmed Cabinet member, will attend Trump&rsquo;s Wednesday meeting with his entire Cabinet, in an example of his membership in Trump&rsquo;s inner circle.<\/p>\n<p>Yet criticisms against Musk&rsquo;s DOGE efforts have not eased. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have a problem with the DOGE effort going in and trying to accelerate changes and address efficiencies,&rdquo; said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll tell you, if I were a Senate-confirmed head of a department, and I had somebody from the outside undermining my ability to manage and demonstrate there&rsquo;s one leader in every department, I&rsquo;d have a problem.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is the ultimate d*ck boss move from Musk &ndash; except he isn&rsquo;t even the boss, he&rsquo;s just a d*ck,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenTinaSmith\/status\/1893460945130639632\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">wrote<\/a> retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) on X, the platform Musk owns.<\/p>\n<p>In a trolling post, Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1893507417276559441\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">responded<\/a> to Smith with the question: &ldquo;What did you get done last week?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Listen &ndash; it&rsquo;s not nuts to ask federal employees to report what they&rsquo;re working on. My staff has to do weekly reports too,&rdquo; wrote Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MarkWarner\/status\/1894123412903055452\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">on X<\/a>. &ldquo;But the WAY Musk is doing this? What&rsquo;s he gonna do, read 2 million emails? This is just not serious stuff. It&rsquo;s just emblematic of the carelessness with which he&rsquo;s approached this whole enterprise.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Jason Cabel Roe, a Republican strategist who has worked on multiple presidential campaigns, downplayed some of the Republican pushback to Musk&rsquo;s work as an indirect rebuttal of Trump.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t surprise me if it&rsquo;s a little bit of a proxy, that these are people that might not be happy with the direction the administration is going, but they don&rsquo;t have the courage to criticize Trump, and so they think they can get away with criticizing Elon because there&rsquo;s no price to repay,&rdquo; Roe said. &ldquo;If there&rsquo;s anyone keeping score on who friends and foes are of the White House, it&rsquo;s the Trump administration, not Elon Musk.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>GOP strategists who spoke with the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>defended Musk&rsquo;s efforts and agreed with the Trump administration&rsquo;s continued embrace of the billionaire leader. <\/p>\n<p>Republican consultant Gregg Keller implored the Trump administration not to abandon Musk, despite growing opposition. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump not only should, but will, stand by Elon and DOGE. In fact, he publicly encouraged Elon on this just a couple days ago,&rdquo; Keller said. &ldquo;The federal debt is $36 trillion and counting, and the American people voted for exactly this kind of government accountability in November.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/tablet\/2025\/02\/19\/feb-13-18-2025-washington-post-ipsos-poll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Washington Post<\/em>-Ipsos poll<\/a> released this month showed that 34% of those surveyed approved of how Musk is handling his job, 49% disapproved, and 14% were not sure.<\/p>\n<p>Another recent <a href=\"https:\/\/poll.qu.edu\/poll-release?releaseid=3919\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">poll from Quinnipiac University showed that <\/a>55% of voters said Musk has too much power in making decisions affecting the United States, 36% said Musk has about the right amount of power, and 3% said he has too little power.<\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s approval rating was similarly underwater according to a February <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2025\/02\/19\/how-americans-view-elon-musk-and-mark-zuckerberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pew Research survey<\/a> that showed 54% of U.S. adults have an unfavorable view of Musk,&nbsp;including 36% who have a&nbsp;very&nbsp;unfavorable opinion of him.<\/p>\n<p>Keller pointed to a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/harvardharrispoll.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/HHP_Feb2025_vFinal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Harvard-Harris poll<\/a> that showed 72% of those surveyed said there should be a federal agency focused on efficiency compared with 28% who said there shouldn&rsquo;t be.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Elon is on the right track, and President Trump knows it,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Chamberlain of the Republican Main Street Partnership noted that Musk could be indifferent to public perception.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, I don&rsquo;t know if he cares,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s really trying to tackle a problem and clean it up. Maybe it&rsquo;s not the way that most people would do it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/3327540\/elon-musk-defends-work-productivity-report-requirement-fbi-patel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>MUSK DEFENDS WORK PRODUCTIVITY REPORT REQUIREMENT AMID COLD SHOULDER FROM FBI&rsquo;S PATEL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>GOP consultant Matt Mackowiak, who was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, claimed that House Republicans would stand by Musk.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see any reason for distance. I don&rsquo;t see anything really building in that regard,&rdquo; Mackowiak said as he met with lawmakers. &ldquo;DOGE is highly popular among House Republicans.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>Samantha-Jo Roth and Naomi Lim contributed to this report. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <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_2018389\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2018389\"}});<\/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>Trump administration supports Musk amid backlash over email<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2658,"featured_media":2406696,"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\/01\/011925_TRUMP-RALLY_DC_INAUGURATION-37.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4106,4265,4250,3634],"class_list":["post-2406695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-administration","tag-backlash","tag-musk","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/011925_TRUMP-RALLY_DC_INAUGURATION-37.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406695","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\/2658"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2406695"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406699,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406695\/revisions\/2406699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2406696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2406695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2406695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2406695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}