Trump’s big warning to federal employees
At the first meeting with the Cabinet, Trump welcomed tech billionaire Elon Musk, head of the administration’s cost-cutting team called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who said federal workers should expect another email in an effort to figure out if workers exist. “We’re going to send another email,” Musk said.
Trump called Musk’s push “a good idea because, you know, those people, as I said before, they’re on the bubble,” he said. About half the federal workforce did not reply to initial emails sent over the weekend.
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Trump’s comments came after the White House told federal agencies on Wednesday to submit plans by March 13 for “large-scale reductions in force,” the first phase of its plan to drastically cut the federal workforce. “I can announce that we have had more than one million workers who have chosen to participate in this very simple task of, again, sending five bullet points to your direct supervisor or manager, cc’ing OPM,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.
“All federal workers should be working at the same pace that President Trump is working and moving,” Leavitt added. The president suggested some agencies could see dramatic job reductions, saying Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin was considering eliminating 65% of his staff, reported Bloomberg. During the cabinet meeting, Trump said his team is working to track down those who didn’t send a reply by the deadline. Trump said Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking to find out why these federal employees did not answer his email.”Maybe they’re going to be gone, maybe they’re not around, maybe they have other jobs, maybe they moved and they’re not where they’re supposed to be,” Trump mused. “A lot of things could have happened.”
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Musk also spoke at the meeting, describing the emails that asked “What did you do last week?” as a “pulse check” that anyone could do and argued, without presenting evidence, that the government is paying salaries to workers who don’t exist.
“What we are trying to get to the bottom of is, we think there are a number of people on the payroll who are dead, which is probably why they can’t respond — and some people who are not real people … fictional individuals that are collecting paychecks,” Musk said.
Musk’s email to federal workers
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is also the world’s richest man, issued a directive via the Office of Personnel Management on Saturday, compelling workers to submit weekly summaries of their achievements. The tech mogul re-issued a new ultimatum to federal workers after senior officials told federal employees to ignore the Tesla CEO’s demand and spoke out against the need to justify their jobs.
On Monday he told federal employees: “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.” Musk said that if President Trump approves, these workers will be given “another chance” to respond. Confusion and anger over the situation spawned new litigation and turmoil within the federal workforce.
In the latest development a memo distributed by the Trump administration on Wednesday afternoon said that Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions.
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The memo expands the Republican president’s effort to downsize the federal workforce, which he has described as bloated and impediment to his agenda. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and now his administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection.
Agencies are directed to submit by March 13 their plans for what is known as a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate the position altogether. The result could be extensive changes in how government functions.
