Elon Musk, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla, who heads the newly established Department of Efficiency in the Donald Trump administration's second term, informed federal employees to report their work performance while proceeding with a federal government restructuring. Some heads of departments appointed by Trump urged employees not to follow Musk's directives.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 23rd (local time), heads of several federal agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Ministry of National Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security ordered their employees not to follow the directives from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
This action was taken in response to Musk's message sent through OPM on the 22nd, which stated, "Federal government employees should summarize their work from last week in five points by midnight on the 24th," adding that otherwise, "I will consider them as resigning."
A senior official from the Ministry of National Defense publicly criticized Musk's directive on the 23rd. Musk later pointed out the senior official from the Ministry of National Defense on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "Anyone with such an attitude should find a new job." Afterward, the Ministry of National Defense stated, "The Ministry will review employee performance according to its own procedures," and instructed, "Temporarily suspend all responses to OPM."
Tulsi Gabbard, the Director General of the DNI appointed by Trump, and Kathy Patel, the Director of the FBI, also opposed Musk. Gabbard told employees, "Given that our work is essentially sensitive and confidential, our employees should not respond to OPM emails." Patel also requested employees to temporarily suspend all responses in an email saying, "The FBI handles all processes through the Director's office."
Internal confusion occurred as conflicting directives were issued among some departments. The Department of Health and Human Services instructed employees to follow OPM's directives on the morning of the 23rd, but an hour later, the National Institutes of Health under the Department of Health and Human Services, appointed by Trump, sent an email telling employees to "hold off on responses to OPM."
The NYT reported, "The heads of several agencies appointed by Trump challenged Musk, who was granted extensive authority to radically change the federal bureaucratic structure, urging them not to follow Musk's order to summarize last week's achievements." It noted that "this confrontation has become the first significant test of how much Musk's power will expand."