Kash Patels asks FBI employees to ignore Musk’s ‘Justify your job’ directive
Elon Musk’s recent directive to federal employees has sparked significant controversy. He demanded that employees “justify their work” from the previous week within 48 hours or face automatic resignation. His move faced an unexpected backlash from within the Trump administration on Sunday in what is seen as an early sign of power struggles to come.
The pushback came from Kash Patel, who took over as the ninth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Saturday.
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“Pause any responses’’
Reportedly, Patel has asked all FBI employees to “pause any responses” to Musk’s email ultimatum to federal workers that he sent as part of his supposedly unofficial role as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“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. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses,” Patel told his staff in an email, according to an NBC report.
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Musk’s Ultimatum
Hours after president Donald Trump pushed him to be “more aggressive” in slashing government spending, Elon Musk, the billionaire advisor to the President said that all US federal employees must justify their work or lose their jobs.
“All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” Musk wrote.
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According to an AFP report, federal workers were asked to submit “approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week.”
The email came from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), with the subject line “What did you do last week?”. The deadline to reply was 11:59 pm Monday, though the message did not say failure to do so would lead to termination.
(With inputs from agencies)
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