DOGE doubles down on ‘what did you do last week’ emails — with a new requirement

A New Era of Accountability: Elon Musk’s Push for Transparency in Government

In a bold move to redefine transparency within the federal government, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has issued a second mass email to executive branch employees. This directive, sent via the Office of Personnel Management over a weekend, mandates that all employees submit their weekly accomplishments by Monday midnight. The email, titled “What Did You Do Last Week? Part II,” serves as a follow-up to an initial communication that sparked both confusion and uproar among federal workers. The new directive is part of a broader initiative to enhance accountability and efficiency within the government, reflecting Elon Musk’s well-known emphasis on performance and productivity.

The Scope and Requirements of the New Directive

The email outlines a straightforward yet specific requirement for federal employees: they must provide a weekly summary of their accomplishments in five bullet points. This summary should be sent via email to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by 11:59 p.m. ET every Monday. While the directive applies to all executive branch employees, it includes an important exemption for classified or sensitive information. Employees whose work involves such information are not required to disclose details that could compromise national security or ongoing operations. Instead, they may simply state, “All of my activities are sensitive,” to comply with the directive while maintaining the necessary confidentiality.

Addressing Skeptics and Pushback

Despite the clarity of the directive, some federal agencies have expressed concerns about the practicality and necessity of this new requirement. Certain agency heads, appointed by former President Trump, have advised their employees to disregard the email, citing potential inefficiencies or redundancies in the process. Notable figures such as Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, and Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, have instructed their teams to ignore the mandate. This pushback underscores the challenges Musk and his team may face in implementing such sweeping changes across the federal bureaucracy.

Elon Musk’s Vision for Government Efficiency

Elon Musk addressed these concerns directly during the first cabinet meeting of President Trump’s second term. Wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, Musk emphasized that the email initiative is not a performance review but rather a “pulse check” to gauge the productivity and engagement of federal employees. He also revealed a more surprising motivation behind the directive: identifying individuals who may no longer be active on the government payroll but remain on the roster. Musk suggested that employees who fail to respond to the email may be deceased, highlighting the need for greater oversight and transparency in government operations.

The Consequences of Non-Compliance

The stakes for non-compliance with this directive were made clear during a meeting between President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office. Trump reportedly stated that employees who fail to respond to the email could face termination. This stern warning underscores the administration’s commitment to enforcing the new accountability measures and signals a significant shift in how the federal government approaches employee performance and oversight. The message is clear: in this new era of government efficiency, transparency and responsiveness are non-negotiable.

Broader Implications for Government Reform

Elon Musk’s initiative reflects a broader push for reform within the federal government, aiming to eliminate inefficiencies and ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used effectively. While the directive has sparked resistance in some quarters, it also represents an effort to modernize and streamline government operations. By requiring employees to account for their work on a weekly basis, the administration hopes to identify areas of redundancy, improve communication, and ultimately enhance the overall performance of the federal workforce. Whether this approach succeeds in achieving its goals remains to be seen, but it unquestionably marks a significant departure from the status quo in government operations.