Elon Musk Issues 'Another Chance' to Federal Workers

What Happened?

President Donald Trump's DOGE advisor, Elon Musk, has issued renewed warnings to government employees who don't comply with a requested measure that has sparked much criticism.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent out email blasts over the weekend on behalf of Musk that outlined federal employees must report their work accomplishments last week or face losing their jobs.

Many department head leaders had reportedly instructed their staff not to reply to the emails that detailed a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday.

'Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance,' Musk wrote late Monday on social platform X.

A group of unions legally challenged the original email deadline request and claimed it didn't comply with federal regulations amid a lack of notice in the Federal Register.

'No OPM rule, regulation, policy, or program has ever, in United States history, purported to require all federal workers to submit reports to OPM,' said the amended complaint.

On Tuesday, more than 20 civil service employees resigned from the Department of Government Efficiency.

Those who resigned stated a refusal to use their technical expertise to 'dismantle critical public services,' according to reports.

'We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,' the staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter obtained by The Associated Press. 'However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.'

Musk also issued administrative leave warnings to federal workers who have not yet returned to office in person full-time.

'Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning,' said Musk in a social media post. 'Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave.'

Trump issued an executive order last month that ended the widespread allowance of work-from-home.

Why it Matters

The Trump administration and DOGE have taken extreme measures to reshape the federal bureaucracy.

That includes mass USAID layoffs, roughly 6,000 workers from the Internal Revenue Service, around 105 of NASA's workforce, and many other sectors.

Musk and the Trump administration have ambitiously set the goal of cutting at least $1 trillion from the $6.7 trillion federal budget.

Trump has reportedly said he will not touch popular benefit programs.

DOGE estimates it has saved $55 billion in spending so far with the projected goal to cut at least $1 trillion from the $6.7 trillion federal budget.

As many as 200,000 federal employees are set to be affected by this process.

However, some reports suggest that nearly 40% of the federal contracts the Trump administration has claimed to have canceled aren’t expected to save the government any money.

'It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it. It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,’ said retired law professor Charles Tiefer, who specializes in government contracting.

An administration official who spoke to the AP confidentially said it made sense to cancel potential 'dead weight' contracts, even if savings aren't yielded.

How it Affects You

Some Republican members have reportedly opposed Trump's plan amid concerns about downsizing various sectors at this pace.

Musk's expansion of 'say so' power has also bothered some department heads who conduct their own running processes.

Congress will have to focus on whether the president can spend less money than they are requesting.

It is likely a question that will create much friction upon bipartisan measures without the opinion of the Supreme Court.