The heads of multiple federal law enforcement agencies, including Director Kash Patel of the FBI, are pushing back against a new demand from Elon Musk that they justify the work they have done in their positions or face resignation.
Earlier Saturday, Musk posted a directive on X that said all federal employees must describe what they have “got done” in the past week. If an employee fails to respond by Monday at 11:59 p.m., it “will be taken as a resignation,” Musk added.
That left federal law enforcement agencies scrambling on Saturday night, unsure about how to fulfill the obligation due to the sensitive nature of their work.
Patel, who was just sworn in on Friday to lead the top law enforcement agency in the nation, told FBI employees to “pause” any responses to the email that came from the Office of Personnel Management, which instructed employees to list “5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and CC your manager.”
“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. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses,” Patel said in a message to FBI employees.
Two U.S. attorneys also urged their employees to be cautious in how they respond to the email, including John Durham of the eastern district of New York and Ed Martin, who was just nominated by Trump to serve as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
“Of course, a majority of our work is law enforcement sensitive (in addition to much classified work), so even assuming this is legitimate, we will need to be careful in how we respond to this inquiry. As noted, the deadline isn’t until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, so we have plenty of time,” Durham wrote in a letter to employees.
In his own email to staff, Martin heaped praise on the work being done by the Department of Government Efficiency, while also recommending that employees respond “carefully” to Musk’s directive and “be general” if necessary.
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“DOGE and Elon are doing great work! Historic. We are happy to be participate. [sic] Please respond to the HR email carefully with regard to confidentiality and our duties. Be general if you need to. If anyone gives you problems, I’ve got your back. You’re good,” Martin said.
Musk’s post followed President Donald Trump’s call earlier Saturday for the DOGE leader to “get more aggressive” in cutting wasteful government spending.
