On Wednesday, February 26th, Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration, announced during the first cabinet meeting that federal employees can expect to receive another email from the department. This email aims to determine how many employees are actually working in each federal agency.
Musk stated, “We will send out another email.”
He mentioned that the email asking “What did you do last week” is a type of “pulse check” that anyone can easily respond to, helping the federal government prevent non-existent employees from fraudulently claiming the salaries the government pays.
“We are going to get to the bottom of this! We suspect that some individuals on the payroll may have passed away, which could be why they are not responding to emails. Additionally, some individuals may not even exist and are fictional characters collecting salaries,” Musk emphasized.
President Trump strongly endorsed Musk’s efforts to streamline agencies and cut down on unnecessary staff. He warned that approximately one million federal employees did not respond to the first email requesting them to report on the “five things” they have completed.
These non-responsive employees are said to be in a precarious position, as they may risk losing their jobs.
Furthermore, President Trump expressed his full support for Musk during the cabinet meeting, stating that “everyone around this table is very much aligned with (Musk).”
He invited cabinet members to voice any grievances against Musk, adding that if anyone truly spoke up, “we will kick them out,” which elicited laughter in the room. He seriously stated, “Some may have a little disagreement, but I have to say, in most cases, I think everyone is not only going to be very happy, but also very excited!”
Musk announced that his goal this year is to cut $1 trillion from the nearly $7 trillion budget, making every effort to eliminate the deficit.