The world’s richest man Elon Musk had an email sent to millions of federal employees on Saturday asking them “What did you get done this week?” The DOGE chief warned recipients that failure to reply to the email would be considered a resignation.
It’s been reported that several agencies including the FBI, State Department, and Pentagon told their employees not to answer the DOGE message or to wait for further guidance before responding. But Musk on Monday reiterated the threat on X.
Musk wrote: “Those who do not take this email seriously will soon be furthering their career elsewhere,” and amplified a video of MAGA Rep. Tim Burchett claiming that the people who are “upset” about the email are upset “because they can’t show what they’ve done, because they probably haven’t done much.”
Those who do not take this email seriously will soon be furthering their career elsewhere https://t.co/EFVCjnXWrl
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
MAGA advocate Caitlyn Jenner replied to Musk: “In my years of doing business, I always enacted similar policy; a summary of what the week had achieved, employee by employee. The impact it had was not just accountability to the boss, but a boost to employee pride, by reflecting on how much they had actually accomplished!”
Hope is back in America. These two men will single-handedly save western civilization and that starts with a strong United States of America. I am here and at your service and forever indebted to your sacrifice for this country. Let’s Make America Great Again! pic.twitter.com/MVbvUn9jzi
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) November 6, 2024
Jenner fans are chiming in with agreement and comments like “Great perspective…instead of defying this order for optics, theater, and self seeking interests…imagine if they just gave it a shot! It’s not that difficult,” and “I’ve been doing this for years with my boss, what’s the big deal?”
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) took a different view about Musk’s demand last week, objecting not to accountability, but to DOGE’s authority. The senator wrote to Musk: “I hate to break it to you but you’re not my boss.”
In my years of doing business, I always enacted similar policy; a summary of what the week had achieved, employee by employee. The impact it had was not just accountability to the boss, but a boost to employee pride, by reflecting on how much they had actually accomplished! https://t.co/cunWdh36mc
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) February 24, 2025
Not all Republicans are applauding the email tactic either. U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) said while he supported the overall goal of DOGE, he asked that Musk display compassion.
Curtis said: “If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it’s like, please put a dose of compassion in this. These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said Musk’s email threat is “illegal, reckless, and yet another example of the cruel and arbitrary chaos Mr. Musk is inflicting on the people’s government and its dedicated public servants.”