Musk Renews Firing Threat After Being Stymied by Federal Officials 

Elon Musk listens to US President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Elon Musk listens to US President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Musk Renews Firing Threat After Being Stymied by Federal Officials 

Elon Musk listens to US President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Elon Musk listens to US President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Elon Musk, President Donald Trump's point person to root out what he says is government waste, on Monday renewed his threat to fire federal workers who do not comply with his demand to justify their jobs, even after the Trump administration said workers did not have to respond.

The US agency that oversees federal employees said on Monday they could ignore a weekend email from Musk that required them to summarize their work or face losing their jobs. The directive sparked widespread confusion across the federal government and raised questions about how much actual authority Musk, the world's richest man, possesses within the administration.

As the deadline for response grew near on Monday, Musk, whom Trump appointed to head up a newly named Department of Government Efficiency that Trump has tasked to radically downsize the government, seemed to acknowledge that his plan had run aground.

"The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!" Musk posted on X, the social media site he owns. "Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers."

Musk went on to say, "Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk's remarks.

It was unclear whether Musk was aware of the guidance the US Office of Personnel Management released earlier on Monday telling human resources officials at federal agencies that employees would not be let go for not replying to Musk's email - nor were staff required to respond to it.

The memo said responding to the email was voluntary. It also urged employees not to share confidential, sensitive or classified information in their responses, a concern of critics of Musk's action.

Even after that guidance was issued, some agencies nudged their employees to respond.

A senior manager at the General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings, told employees that the agency was still encouraging workers to answer the email even if it was voluntary, according to a GSA source.

Similarly, the acting director of OPM itself sent an email to the agency's staff that said responding with bullet points was voluntary "but strongly encouraged."

RESISTANCE TO MUSK'S ORDER

The Department of Health and Human Services advised employees that if they chose to reply, they should keep their responses general in nature and that they should refrain from identifying specific drugs or contracts they are working on, according to an email reviewed by Reuters.

"Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly," the email said.

Musk's downsizing initiative, known as DOGE, has rippled into the wider US economy as well, forcing companies that do business with the government to lay off workers and defer payments to vendors.

Musk's Saturday message took some administration officials by surprise, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Adding to the confusion, Trump stood by Musk. "I thought it was great," he told reporters at the White House earlier on Monday. "There was a lot of genius in sending it. We're trying to find out if people were working."

In other Monday action, a federal judge blocked the government downsizing team created by Trump and led by Musk from accessing sensitive data maintained by the US Education Department and the OPM.

Unlike Cabinet appointees and appointees to head up independent federal agencies, Musk's appointment required no approval by the US Senate.

UNIONS SUE OVER MUSK EMAIL

Also on Monday, a group of labor unions that have asked a federal judge to stop the mass firings updated their lawsuit to request that Musk's email be ruled illegal.

Prior to the OPM directive, senior officials at the Department of Justice, as well as the Departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security and several other agencies had told workers not to respond outside their established chain of command.

The Transportation Department, the Treasury Department and independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission have told employees to answer Musk's message.

Musk has reveled in the upheaval, even wielding a chainsaw at a conservative political conference last week.

In addition, his email was sent to political appointees at the White House who presumably would not be viewed with suspicion by the president, according to two sources.

It also was sent to federal judges and other employees of the court system, who make up a separate branch of government and do not answer to the administration.

More than 20,000 workers have been laid off as part of the downsizing effort.

DOWNSIZING, REHIRING

The confusion echoed the broader turmoil surrounding Trump's return to power.

Since taking office on January 20, Trump has frozen billions of dollars in foreign assistance and effectively dismantled the US Agency for International Development, which administers some 60% of US foreign assistance, stranding medicine and food in warehouses.

Trump has ordered employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to cease working, though they also received Musk's email asking that they outline their work activities over the past week. The Trump administration has separately offered buyouts to 75,000 workers.

In some cases, the government has scrambled to rehire workers who perform critical functions like nuclear weapons oversight and bird flu response. The downsizing has prompted a wave of lawsuits.



Pro-Palestinian Activists Charged with Damaging Planes at UK Air Base are Held in Custody

An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
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Pro-Palestinian Activists Charged with Damaging Planes at UK Air Base are Held in Custody

An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo

Four pro-Palestinian protesters were held in custody Thursday after their first appearance in a London court on charges they damaged two Royal Air Force planes with red paint and crowbars.

The charges come after the group Palestine Action said two of its members entered RAF Brize Norton on June 20 and used electric scooters to approach two Voyager jets used for air-to-air refueling. The protesters used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray paint into the planes’ jet engines and caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage of the incident, The AP news reported.

The four, all between the ages of 22 and 35, are charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the UK, counterterror police said in a statement. The Crown Prosecution Service will argue that the offenses have a “terrorist connection,” police said.

The group did not enter pleas in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. They were scheduled to appear July 18 at the Central Criminal Court.

Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for a series of incidents targeting Israeli defense contractors in the UK and other sites linked to the war in Gaza.

Following the incident at RAF Brize Norton, the government introduced legislation to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. The measure, being debated in Parliament, would make it a criminal offense to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Palestine Action said its protests are designed to end international support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Planes from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.