Federal workers who fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave, Musk states

Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), warned federal workers on Monday morning that those who fail to return to the office will be placed on administrative leave.

“Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning,” Musk wrote on X, the platform which he also owns. “Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave.” 

Musk’s warning comes after he announced Saturday that federal employees must report their accomplishments from the last week or face losing their jobs.

Musk said on Saturday that federal employees would receive an email directing them to list their accomplishments from the week prior, with the DOGE leader adding later that day that the assignment should take less than five minutes to accomplish. Employees have until 11:59 pm on Monday to send the list or lose their employment, according to emails regarding Musk’s directive that were sent by the Office of Personnel Management.

MUSK’S DEMAND THAT FED EMPLOYEES LIST THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ROIL WORKFORCE: ‘MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE’

Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Mass confusion followed on the eve of the deadline as some agencies resisted the order, others encouraged their workers to comply, and still others offered conflicting guidance.

Several key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department, Homeland Security and the Pentagon, which instructed their employees over the weekend not to comply.

The Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., instructed its roughly 80,000 employees to comply shortly after acting general counsel, Sean Keveney, had instructed some not to. Later Sunday evening, agency leadership issued new instructions that employees should “pause activities” related to the request until noon on Monday.

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Officials at the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security were more consistent.

The State Department reportedly told employees on Saturday 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.

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

The Department of Defense (DOD) told its civilian workforce to ignore the billionaire’s request, while Kash Patel, who was confirmed by the Senate last week as the new director of the FBI, also told employees to stand down.

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While Musk and DOGE have been criticized for how they’re going about cutting federal spending, President Donald Trump on Saturday wrote on Truth Social that though Musk is “doing a great job,” he should be “more aggressive.”

“ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!,” Trump wrote.

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Musk responded with an enthusiastic “Will do, Mr. President!” hours after Trump posted.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Andrea Margolis, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.