Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, and head of Donald Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), recently announced via X that federal employees will soon receive an email seeking details of their accomplishments from the previous week. Musk indicated that not responding would be interpreted as a resignation, aligning with Trump’s push for enhanced accountability within the federal workforce.
Trump has already made significant cuts to the federal payroll following his inauguration, with DOGE prioritising the need to eliminate waste. On his platform, Truth Social, the former president commended Musk for his efforts in auditing government operations and encouraged him to adopt a more aggressive stance, reminding him, “we have a country to save.”
Continuing with this initiative, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to collaborate with DOGE on plans for extensive workforce reductions. However, there are complexities regarding the president’s authority to dismiss federal employees, as most can only be terminated for poor performance or misconduct, and due process rights exist for those affected.
Additionally, Trump’s Office of Personnel Management previously circulated an email, labelled ‘Fork in the Road’, offering deferred resignations. This initiative resulted in over 77,000 federal employees accepting the offer, thereby reducing the workforce by approximately 3%.