It follows Elon Musk doubling down on his email to all federal employees demanding a response or else they be considered ‘terminated’
A screenshot of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s response to Elon Musk’s email to all federal workers has been shared online.
On Saturday, February 22, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), following President Donald Trump’s orders, sent an email to all federal employees demanding a detailed account of their recent work. Titled “HR,” the email subject bluntly asked: “What did you do last week?” The message requested employees to reply with approximately five bullet points outlining their accomplishments, copying their manager in the response.
Staff were instructed not to include any links, attachments, or classified information. Musk later took to Twitter to emphasize the message’s importance, writing: “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
The email quickly sparked backlash, especially with the tight deadline of 11:59 pm on Monday, February 24. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded publicly, and a screenshot of her own reply to the email circulated online, adding fuel to the growing controversy.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that she had responded to the controversial email, forwarding it to political consultant and current White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Taylor Budowich.
Her email read: “Hello Taylor, In an effort of transparency and accountability, I am pleased to inform you of five tasks that I completed last week, though the list of everything I accomplished is much longer. See below.”
Leavitt’s five bullet points included:
- Held a press briefing to mark one month of the Trump Administration with special guests Mike Walz, Stephen Miller, and Kevin Hassett.
- Gave a speech at CPAC.
- Staffed POTUS for the CPAC speech on Saturday.
- Joined Fox News.
- Participated in media row in the EEEOB.
Leavitt concluded her email with: “P.S. I am so grateful to have a job and work hard on behalf of the American taxpayers, who fund my salary. This email took me two minutes to draft. Thank you.”
The White House Press Secretary then reiterated her comments during a press conference, standing firm in her response.
During a press conference, Leavitt proudly announced, “We’ve had more than one million workers choose to participate in this very simple task of sending five bullet points to their direct supervisor or manager.”
Defending the initiative, she told ABC News, “All federal workers should be working at the same pace that President Trump is working and moving. We have a country to save, and we want this federal government to be responsive to the needs of the American people, who re-elected this president to implement historic, massive reform. That’s the intention behind this idea.”
Meanwhile, Elon Musk doubled down on the directive, posting on Twitter on February 24 that federal employees would be granted “another chance” to respond. However, he warned, “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”
