The directive comes after Musk announced a new measure requiring all US federal employees to justify their work.
Musk, an advisor to President Donald Trump, stated on Saturday (February 22) that federal employees must account for their work or risk losing their jobs. He described the move as part of an effort to streamline government operations and reduce spending.
“All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” Musk wrote.According to a copy of the email seen by AFP, federal workers were asked to submit “approx. five bullets of what you accomplished last week.” The email, sent by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), carried the subject line “What did you do last week?” and set a deadline of 11:59 pm on Monday.
However, the message did not explicitly state that non-compliance would result in termination.
Patel instructed FBI employees not to respond to the inquiry for now.
“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. The Office of the Director oversees all review processes and will conduct them according to FBI procedures,” Patel wrote in an internal email, as reported by NBC.
“When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses,” he added.
–With AP inputs
First Published: Feb 23, 2025 4:11 PM IST
