Elon Musk threatened that federal employees who did not answer a government email would be treated as having resigned. But that threat was not in the email itself: the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asked workers to send about five bullets describing the previous week’s accomplishments and copy their manager. OPM later told agencies that responding was voluntary, while President Donald Trump said nonresponders would be “sort of semi-fired” or “fired.” Agency instructions differed, and the available reporting does not establish that anyone was fired specifically for ignoring this email.
What did the email ask federal workers to do?
On February 22, 2025, OPM sent federal employees an email asking them to reply with approximately five bullets about what they had accomplished during the previous week and to copy their manager. Government Executive reported that the message set a deadline of Monday, February 24, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. It also told recipients not to send classified information, links, or attachments (Government Executive, February 22, 2025).
The email’s request was distinct from Musk’s public threat. The House Democrats’ February 24 letter reproduced the OPM wording as: “please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what [they] accomplished last week and cc [their] manager.” The letter also reproduced Musk’s separate statement: “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation” (House Democrats’ letter, February 24, 2025).
What did Musk and Trump say about not responding?
Musk’s resignation threat
On February 22, Musk announced on X that the email was coming and said failure to respond would be treated as a resignation. After OPM told agencies that responses were voluntary, Musk renewed the threat, saying employees would get another chance and that failing to answer a second time would result in termination. Those were public statements; they do not establish that a second response was universally required or that the threatened dismissals happened (Associated Press).
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Trump’s “semi-fired” remark
On February 24, Trump said employees who did not respond would be “sort of semi-fired” or “fired,” according to Government Executive’s account of an official pool report. That remark came while OPM was telling agencies that responding was voluntary (Government Executive, February 24, 2025).
Was the response mandatory?
There was no single instruction applied uniformly across agencies. OPM told agencies on February 24 that compliance was voluntary, but individual departments and agencies gave workers different directions. Some instructed employees to respond; others told them not to respond or to wait for further instructions. The FBI and State Department were among the agencies AP reported as telling employees not to respond (Government Executive; Associated Press).
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That split matters: Musk’s threat, Trump’s remark, OPM’s guidance, and an employee’s agency-specific direction were not interchangeable. The instruction a particular worker received depended on their agency.
Could an employee be fired for not answering?
At the time, legal experts quoted in news coverage questioned whether OPM or the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had authority to fire employees within individual agencies, and whether missing one email response could justify dismissal. Georgetown Law professor David Super told Axios, “Neither DOGE nor OPM has authority to fire these federal workers.” Federal employee attorney Tamara Slater likewise said she was unaware of authority allowing OPM to direct an agency to fire someone and described whether a single nonresponse could meet dismissal standards as a legal question (Axios).
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did lawmakers question the request?
In a February 24 letter to agency and department heads, House Democrats argued that workers could miss the deadline while on leave or away from secure workstations. They also raised concerns that some employees could not describe classified or otherwise restricted work, and questioned how agencies would process a potentially large volume of replies. The letter referred to as many as two million replies, a projected volume rather than a measured response total (House Democrats’ letter, February 24, 2025).
The lawmakers’ letter also quoted the FBI director’s assurance that the FBI would conduct reviews under FBI procedures. The concerns and assurances were part of the letter’s advocacy and agency context; they do not establish how every agency handled responses.
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