DOD tells civilian workforce to ignore Elon Musk’s request to report productivity

The Department of Defense (DOD) told its civilian workforce to ignore billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk’s request to report their productivity.

In a letter to DOD personnel, Darin S. Selnick, who is performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, provided guidance on how to handle Musk’s demand through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

“DoD personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. The Department of Defense is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and it will conduct any review in accordance with its own procedures,” Selnick wrote. “When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM. For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled, ‘What did you do last week.’”

Musk, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, said earlier on Saturday that employees would receive an email giving them a chance to explain how productive they were the previous week. If an employee fails to respond to the email, Musk said the government will interpret that as a resignation.

ELON MUSK SAYS ‘BAR IS VERY LOW’ AFTER ORDERING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN

Elon Musk told federal employees they needed to report their productivity to keep their jobs. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote on X. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Later that day, Musk said the report should take under five minutes for employees to write. The deadline for responding to the email is 11:59 p.m. on Monday.

ELON MUSK SAYS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN

The Department of Defense told civilian employees to ignore Elon Musk’s request to report productivity. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

“To be clear, the bar is very low here. An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable! Should take less than 5 mins to write,” Musk wrote on X.

A spokesperson from OPM confirmed Musk’s plans.

“As part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, OPM is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week by the end of Monday, CC’ing their manager,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Agencies will determine any next steps.”

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Kash Patel informed FBI staffers that his office will handle reviewing their productivity. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Also telling employees to stand down was Kash Patel, who was confirmed by the Senate last week as the new director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information,” Patel told employees, according to The Associated Press. “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.”

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The State Department also reportedly issued a similar message to employees on Saturday, informing them that department officials “will respond on behalf of the Department,” according to a message sent by Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy, who serves as acting under secretary of state for management. 

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion, Andrea Margolis and Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.