The Pentagon and the United States Department of Justice They have asked their employees not to respond to an email sent by the Office of Government Efficiency of Elon Muskciting possible legal implications and the autonomy of the agencies.
Several government agencies of USA They have warned their employees to ignore an order from Elon Musk that urges them to justify their functions or face dismissal. The measure has generated concern and confusion in the public sector, with divided responses between different agencies.
The mail, sent to more than 2 million federal employees, demanded a detailed report with five job achievements of the previous week before Monday night. “Not responding will be taken as a resignation,” Musk said in X, shortly before the messages were distributed.
Government response: rejection and confusion
The reactions of government agencies were disparate. The Pentagon and the Department of Justice asked their employees not to respond, claiming that the directive lacks legal support. For its part, the Department of Health and Human Services urged workers to respond, validating the legitimacy of the mail.
In NASA, managers reported that they are preparing a guide on how to proceed. Meanwhile, some prosecutors of the Department of Justice have warned about possible ethical violations if the Musk application is attended.
Musk’s role in Trump administration
Elon Musk, who serves as special advisor to President Donald Trump, has no direct authority to say goodbye to federal employees. However, its influence within the government has generated uncertainty about the future of bureaucracy in the US.
The Defense Department reaffirmed the independence of its personnel evaluation system. “The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will do so according to their own procedures,” said Darin Selnick, an official of the Undersecretariat of Defense for Personnel and Preparation, in a message in X.
Trade union reaction and political criticism
The American Government Employee Federation (ANGE), which represents 800,000 workers, denounced the measure as “intimidation” and demanded that the Personnel Management Office (OPM) annul the Musk mail. “Employees have no obligation to respond to this clearly illegal mail,” said Everett Kelley, national president of Afge.
Meanwhile, the Musk directive has generated rejection even within the Republican Party. “If I could tell Elon Musk something, I would ask him to show some compassion,” said Republican Senator John Curtis in the Face the Nation of CBS. “These are real people with mortgages and families.”
Uncertain future for federal employees
Musk’s order came after Trump’s support for the Government Efficiency Office (Doge), created to reduce government size and limit new hiring. “Elon is doing a great job, but it should be more aggressive,” Trump wrote on social networks.
The measure also remembers Musk management strategies in companies such as Tesla and X, where it has imposed strict productivity controls and mass staff cuts. However, transferring this policy to the public administration could face important legal challenges and generate an unprecedented impact on the US bureaucracy.
Source: Ambito
