The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is once again requiring federal workers to account for their accomplishments as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk continue efforts to eliminate government waste. This week’s email, reportedly sent from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), carried the subject line “What did you do last week? Part II,” referencing a previous DOGE inquiry.
According to The Associated Press, this differed from the original plan, as the message was expected to come from individual agencies rather than OPM. However, unlike the previous email, this one reportedly required federal workers to list five bullet points detailing their weekly accomplishments, according to multiple reports. Responses to the email are due by Mondays at 11:59 p.m. EST.
A key difference this time, according to CBS News, was a directive instructing employees not to include classified or sensitive information. Additionally, those whose work is entirely classified were allegedly instructed to respond with, “All of my activities are sensitive.” On Saturday, as news of the email circulated, Elon Musk reacted to a tweet alleging that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had directed Department of Defense staff to respond to the inquiry.
“The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch,” Musk wrote on X. “Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive.”
The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch.
Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive. https://t.co/lSyfj8eMzR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2025
When discussing the previous email during Trump’s first full Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Musk referred to it as a “pulse check.” He added: “I think that email was perhaps interpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse? And if you have a pulse and two neurons, you could reply to an email.”
