The news from the Epoch Times on February 24, 2025 reported that several federal agencies in the United States advised their employees on Sunday (February 23) not to respond to emails from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The email, based on the opinion of Elon Musk, requested federal employees to list the work they had completed in the past week, or they could face dismissal.
As announced by Elon Musk, the billionaire leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on the social media platform X on Saturday, many federal employees received an email sent by the OPM over the weekend. It required them to reply to the email before 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Monday, reporting on their work over the past week, with the consequence of not responding being deemed as resignation. However, this requirement faced resistance in several federal agencies.
On Sunday, the Pentagon, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), State Department, and intelligence agencies instructed their employees to hold off on responding to this email.
The Pentagon shared a message with its employees on X platform, stating that the Department of Defense would be responsible for reviewing employee performance.
Darin Selnick, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, stated in a release, “If necessary, the Department of Defense will coordinate responses to the email you received from the Office of Personnel Management. At present, please refrain from responding to any emails from the Office of Personnel Management titled ‘What did you do last week.'”
FBI Director Kash Patel also issued a memorandum to employees, saying, “FBI personnel may have received an email from the Office of Personnel Management requesting information. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is responsible for all our review processes through the Office of the Director and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures.”
“If further information is needed, we will coordinate responses,” Patel continued. “For now, please do not respond.”
The U.S. State Department also made a similar response. Acting Under Secretary of State for Management Tibor Nagy wrote in a notification, “The State Department will respond on behalf of this department. Employees are not obligated to report their activities outside of the department’s chain of command.”
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard also issued similar instructions to employees in the intelligence agencies she supervises, stating that “given the inherent sensitivity and classified nature of our work, intelligence community employees should not respond to emails from the Office of Personnel Management.”
However, not all federal agencies rejected this request. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed in an email sent to employees that the OPM email was “legitimate” and recommended employees to respond before the deadline on Monday.
(Adapted from reporting by the “Congress Hill Journal”)