As Elon Musk and Donald Trump push for government efficiency, federal employees have been given an ultimatum—respond to an email or be considered resigned.

Musk, now a special government employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Vivek Ramaswamy, announced that all federal workers must outline their weekly accomplishments by 11:59 PM ET on Monday. Failure to respond, he warned on Twitter, would be seen as a resignation.

The email, sent after Trump’s CPAC appearance, had the subject “What did you do last week?” and instructed recipients to list five accomplishments without including classified information.

While some, like Matt Van Swol, saw it as reasonable, backlash followed. FBI Director Kash Patel urged employees to pause responses, and federal court officials advised against action. AFGE President Everett Kelley condemned the move as “cruel and disrespectful”, vowing to challenge unlawful terminations. Read more below