Trump Administration Retracts Email Response Mandate: NPR

Federal agencies are divided regarding compliance with Elon Musk’s request for employees to report five accomplishments from the past week. This has led to confusion as the midnight deadline approaches, according to emails reviewed by NPR. The agency managing the request issued late guidance indicating that employee responses are ultimately optional.

During the weekend, officials from the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, and Energy instructed workers not to reply to the government-wide “What did you do last week?” email sent out by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Saturday. This was at odds with prior guidance from leaders at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency, both of which fall under DHS.

Staff at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were initially instructed to reply but then later received an email on Sunday evening asking them to “pause” their responses until further guidance was provided. By late Monday, employees were informed that there was no expectation for them to respond to OPM, and choosing not to do so would not impact their employment with the agency.

For those who opted to reply, the department advised against naming other HHS personnel, specific tasks they were handling, or any grants or contracts. An email warned, “Assume that your writing will be seen by malicious foreign actors and tailor your response appropriately.”

Meanwhile, agencies, including the Departments of Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Commerce, and Interior, encouraged their employees to respond, providing varying instructions, while also cautioning that classified information should not be shared.

These internal emails were shared with NPR by both current and former government employees who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration, especially as some are still employed at agencies where they are not allowed to disclose information.

By late Monday afternoon, OPM updated its instructions to agencies, according to communications shared at HHS and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). A memo obtained by NPR indicated OPM informed agencies to clarify to staff that “any employee response to the email is voluntary” and that “failing to respond will not be construed as a resignation.”

This new guidance contradicts statements made by Musk and President Trump, who claimed that employees not responding would risk losing their jobs.

During a discussion in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump made baseless claims that a portion of federal employees have not replied to the email because “they don’t even exist.”

“And if you don’t respond, you are sort of semi-fired or you’re fired, because a lot of individuals are not replying simply because they don’t even exist,” he stated without offering any supporting evidence.

Trump remarked that agencies instructing workers not to respond, such as the State Department and the FBI, did so “in a friendly manner.”

“They mean that non-combatively with Elon. They just believe there are some employees whose input you might not want. “the president added.

OPM did not respond to NPR’s inquiries for clarification or comments.

Leadership Questions

The conflicting responses among federal agencies signify a notable resistance by certain officials – particularly from critical Cabinet departments responsible for national security – to Musk’s ambitious overhaul of the government via his Department of Government Efficiency initiative.

For example, a senior official at the State Department informed staff that the department would formulate a response independently, based on an email screenshot shared with NPR. “No employee is required to disclose their activities outside their Department’s chain of command,” the official stated.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright reinforced his department’s jurisdiction over staff management in an email to employees over the weekend that NPR has reviewed. “The Department of Energy will assess the performance of its personnel per its established procedures,” Wright wrote. “If necessary, the Department will coordinate a response to the OPM email.” His communication mirrored a message sent by the Defense Department on the same day, also reviewed by NPR.

Confusion has spread among many federal employees regarding the inconsistent and often contradictory directives. Numerous interviews conducted by NPR with those affected indicated a chaotic weekend incited first by a post from Musk on X previewing the email that warned, “failure to respond will be regarded as a resignation,” and then by the OPM email itself, which contained no such ultimatum.

“My entire weekend was a frantic cascade of anxiety. No one appears to know who is in charge. No one knows the correct course of action,” commented one federal worker who experienced a barrage of changing instructions from their superiors regarding compliance with the request. This individual spoke under the condition of anonymity due to the risk of retaliation from their federal agency.

Despite the recent guidance stating that replies are optional, some federal employees feel they have no real choice but to comply.

“I dislike the idea of complying, but I believe it’s safer to reply,” confessed another federal employee who also requested anonymity due to fears of retribution. “Whiplash is a fitting term for the micromanagement from a shadow office,” they remarked.

Unions Update Legal Proceedings

Numerous federal employees enjoy civil service protections that shield them from termination without valid reasons.

Adding to the uncertainty, at least a subset of government contractors received the email soliciting feedback on their performance, NPR has discovered. These contractors are not part of the government employee data tracking and are not directly hired or dismissed by the government.

A coalition of organizations, including labor unions, has filed a request with a federal court in San Francisco to temporarily restrain the Trump administration from dismissing probationary employees and from soliciting responses to OPM’s email.

The lawsuit, submitted on Feb. 19, contends that OPM lacks authority to manage employees from federal agencies beyond its own.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup has instructed the government to submit its opposition by 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday and has set a hearing for Thursday afternoon.

NPR’s Tom Bowman, Geoff Brumfiel, Tamara Keith, Megan Lim, Hansi Lo Wang, and Jenna McLaughlin contributed reporting.