Washington, D.C. – Former President Donald Trump warns federal workers. he said that up to 1 million federal employees may lose their jobs after failing to respond to an email from Elon Musk.
During his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump said that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is working to track down those who ignored the email.
Trump said that they are trying to find out which people have not responded to email, he added:
“Maybe they left, maybe they found other jobs, or maybe they moved,”
The email, sent on Saturday night to 2.3 million government workers, required them to list five bullet points detailing their work from the previous week. The deadline was Monday at 11:59 p.m. Musk later posted on X, stating that not responding would be considered a resignation.
The directive caused confusion among employees, especially after some department heads advised workers not to reply. The email came from the Office of Personal Management (OPM), raising concerns about its legitimacy.
Trump states that DOGE is carefully deciding which jobs to cut and wants agencies to start handling these decisions themselves.
For instance, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said he could potentially cut 65% of the agency’s workforce. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is handling responses differently due to classifies government work.
Musk attended the Cabinet meeting and said there is no fixed number of jobs to cut.
“We want to keep those who are doing essential work well,” Musk said. “But if a job isn’t necessary or someone isn’t performing, they shouldn’t be on the public payroll.”
The government workforce now awaits further clarification on the future of their jobs as officials continue reviewing the responses.