Musk Asks Federal Workers to Provide Productivity Reports, Trump Admin Leaves up to Agencies

UPDATE: The Office of Personnel Management said, “Agency heads may exclude personnel from this expectation at their discretion and should inform OPM of the categories of the employees excluded and reasons for exclusion.”

US government workers were told via email Saturday to report their weekly accomplishments as the Trump administration moves to cut the federal workforce. 

The Details: The email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) followed an X post from Government Efficiency lead Elon Musk that said: “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.”

Kash’s Quote: Newly-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, however, emailed FBI employees later on Saturday, ordering them to “pause” email responses. He wrote, “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.”

For Context: The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has led an aggressive effort to cut federal funding and workforce. AllSides is tracking the latest developments here.

How The Media Covered It: The news was first reported by CBS News (Lean Left bias). Some outlets used different descriptors in headlines. For instance, The Daily Wire (Right) wrote that workers “must report what they’ve accomplished or face potential termination” whereas NPR (Lean Left) wrote workers “must document work in email or be fired.” Associated Press (Left) wrote, “Musk gives all federal workers 48 hours to explain what they did last week.” Fox News (Right) wrote, “Elon Musk says federal employees must fill out productivity reports or resign.”