‘What Did You Do Last Week’: Elon Musk’s DOGE Sends Second Mail To Federal Workers Amid Pushback

Last Updated:March 02, 2025, 13:14 IST

The new emails were sent just a week after Musk, whom US President Donald Trump tasked with downsizing the government, sent a similar “what did you do last week?” mail on February 23

Elon Musk and Donald Trump (Reuters Image)

The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, sent a second “What did you do last week" email to US federal workers on Saturday night, asking them to justify their jobs as part of the Trump administration’s broader initiative to cut government spending.

The new emails were sent just a week after Musk, whom US President Donald Trump tasked with downsizing the government, sent a similar “what did you do last week?" mail on February 23, asking the federal workforce to submit evidence of their job duties they had completed over the past week or face potential dismissal.

The initial email sent by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) led to confusion among federal employees.

As a result, several government agencies, including the Departments of Defence, Homeland Security, the US Office of Personnel Management, NASA and the FBI, among others, had asked employees to ignore the directive at the time.

However, employees at the Departments of Treasury and Transportation, along with independent agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, were instructed to respond.

The latest work directive, sent from the same OPM address, “hr@opm.gov," asked federal employees to email five bullet points outlining their accomplishments from the past week by 11:59 pm (local time) on Monday.

“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets describing what you accomplished last week and cc your manager," the message read.

The second e-mail, however, added a new requirement for agencies that handle classified information, exempting their workers from filling in additional paperwork. “If all of your activities are classified or sensitive, please write, ‘All of my activities are sensitive’," it said.

Under the initiative to cut government spending, DOGE instructed agencies last week to submit plans by March 13 for a “significant reduction" in staffing across the federal workforce.

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News world ‘What Did You Do Last Week’: Elon Musk’s DOGE Sends Second Mail To Federal Workers Amid Pushback