Federal Employees Must Justify Work via Email or Face Resignation as Trump Pushes Efficiency Plan

President Donald Trump on Saturday directed Elon Musk, a prominent figure in his administration, to undertake a massive outreach effort targeting every federal employee in the United States.

The directive, issued as part of Trump's broader push to streamline government operations, tasks Musk with contacting each worker via email to ask a straightforward question: "What useful thing have you done?" The initiative aligns with Trump's ongoing efforts to assess and potentially overhaul the federal workforce with an emphasis on efficiency and accountability.

Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, 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,” Musk said on X Saturday.

The instruction comes at a time when Musk is already deeply involved in Trump’s administration, notably through his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly referred to as DOGE. This entity, established via an executive order on January 20, 2025, operates within the Executive Office of the President and aims to reduce federal spending and restructure agencies over an 18-month period, with a scheduled end date of July 4, 2026.