The new Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel has reportedly told the agency’s staff to ignore Elon Musk’s request to justify their work or lose their jobs.
“For now, please pause any responses,” reads a message sent by Patel on Saturday to all FBI personnel, calling for employees to wait for a coordinated response from the bureau.
Why It Matters
Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been tapped by President Donald Trump to shrink the size of the federal government, which he has called “bloated” and full of “people that are unnecessary.”
Patel’s pushback seems to show that not all Trump officials may be onboard with Musk’s aggressive cuts to the federal workforce.
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What To Know
Since Trump’s inauguration, thousands of federal employees have been fired or have accepted the administration’s offer to resign now and receive six months of wages.
While mass layoffs have sparked outrage among Democratic lawmakers, unions, and members of the public, Trump has stood by DOGE and Musk’s work, expressing his approval of what he called a “force of super-geniuses.”
On Saturday, Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” the Tesla CEO said in a post. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
A few hours later, federal workers across several government agencies received an email by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking them to provide “approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager” by Monday 11:59 p.m. ET, as reported by NPR.
Later on the same day, Patel reportedly sent a message to all FBI employees asking them not to respond to the OPM email until a coordinated response had been orchestrated.
“All, FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” reads the message, as reported by NBC.
“When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.”
Bloomberg Law also reported that supervisors at the Department of Justice (DOJ) told employees to leave the email unanswered while they wait to receive further clarity on the situation.
What People Are Saying
Ken Dilanian, NBC News justice and intelligence correspondent, commented on Patel’s letter on X, writing: “The power struggles begin. FBI Director Kash Patel tonight has instructed his employees to ignore @elonmusk’s productivity inquiry, saying, essentially—we will evaluate our own people, thanks.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin commented on the email, writing on X: “Great work by @elonmusk and @DOGE! Proud to be part of it. Let’s go!” Martin urged staff to respond to the email.
Acting U.S. Attorney for Maryland, Philip Selden, told staff members, as reported by ABC News: “We are seeking guidance from [DOJ] about how employees in our office should respond to this request. Please note we want to be thoughtful given the sensitivity of the work we do every day.
“For example, grand jury secrecy as outlined by Rule 6(e), confidentiality, identifying uncharged targets, wiretap information, attorney-client privilege, etc. I suggest holding off on responding until we receive guidance.”
What’s Next
The Trump administration’s efforts to drastically shrink the size of the federal government are expected to accelerate in the coming weeks. Mass layoffs of federal workers have already prompted legal challenges and these are likely to continue as Musk’s authority and the legality of the sudden firings are put into question.
The OPM email asking federal employees to justify their work or be fired has already sparked questions over the legality of such action.
Patel, a Trump loyalist, is expected to have an even bigger role in the new administration soon. On Saturday, Reuters reported that the FBI director will be named by the president as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
