Even after the deadline for federal workers to respond to a "What did you do last week?" email sent by the Office of Personnel Management, there appears to be even more confusion.
In a post on X late Monday, Elon Musk said federal employees will be given another chance to respond. "Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination," Musk wrote.
The post contradicts the guidance some federal agencies gave employees. Scripps News confirmed Sunday that FBI Director Kash Patel told employees that they shouldn't respond to the email, noting only the FBI handles their personnel matters.
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The Department of Defense also told employees to "pause any response," adding that it is responsible for reviewing performance."
However, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services told their employees they were not exempt. But, HHS warned employees to "assume that what you write would be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly."
The Departments of Education and Treasury said their workers do have to respond.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has backed Musk and the email, saying, "I thought it was great because we have people that don't show up to work and nobody even knows if they work for the government. So by asking the question, 'Tell us what you did this week,' what he's doing is saying, 'Are you actually working?' And then if you don't answer, like, you're sort of semi-fired or you're fired because a lot of people are not answering because they don't even exist."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that 1 million federal workers have responded to the email so far.
