Elon Musk says federal workers must justify their work — or resign
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FBI Chief Tells Staff to Ignore Musk's Productivity Email
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Above: Kash Patel. Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel has reportedly instructed agency employees to ignore a directive from Elon Musk requiring federal workers to submit five bullet points detailing their weekly accomplishments by Monday at 11:59 pm ET or face resignation.
In his message, Patel said: "The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses."
On Saturday, the Office of Personnel Management emailed approximately 3M federal employees requesting work summaries. However, the official email didn't include Musk's resignation threat mentioned in his X (formerly Twitter) post.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Patel's move highlights growing division within the Trump administration over Musk's push to reshape government operations and increase accountability through unlawful channels. The sudden demand for productivity reports undermines established agency procedures and threatens the job security of hundreds of thousands of dedicated public servants.
Pro-Trump narrative
There's no power struggle. Musk is a patriot and is doing a great job of making the government more efficient. The federal government is bloated with unnecessary positions and requires aggressive cost-cutting measures to eliminate waste and inefficiency. The productivity probe serves as a necessary tool to identify non-essential personnel and streamline operations.
