Newly-confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly breaking ranks with other top federal leaders—ordering his staff to comply with Elon Musk’s controversial email demanding government employees justify their jobs or be considered resigned.
On Saturday, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the sweeping directive, stating that all federal employees would receive an email requiring them to list their work accomplishments from the previous week. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” Musk declared, citing directives from President Donald Trump.
Shortly after, an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hit inboxes across multiple agencies. Titled “What Did You Do Last Week?” the message instructed government workers to provide a summary of their tasks in five bullet points, copying their managers in the response. The email explicitly warned against sharing classified information, links, or attachments.
While several top agency heads—including newly-appointed FBI Director Kash Patel, a staunch Trump ally—have reportedly told their teams to ignore the email, RFK Jr. appears to be taking a different stance. According to a report from The Bulwark’s Sam Stein, Kennedy is requiring all HHS employees to respond. Stein even shared a screenshot of an internal HHS email confirming the directive:
“This is a legitimate email. Please read and respond per the instructions by Monday, February 24, 11:59 p.m. ET.”
However, not everyone under the HHS umbrella is following orders. Matthew Memoli, the acting director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has reportedly advised his team to hold off on responding until further notice.
“We ask that you please hold on responding to OPM until you receive further guidance,” Memoli wrote in an email, directly contradicting the department’s instructions.
The move has sparked outrage among unions representing federal workers, with many questioning Musk’s authority over government employment. Meanwhile, DOGE—a shadowy operation that Trump insists Musk controls, despite White House claims to the contrary—continues to make waves with mass firings across multiple agencies.
With federal employees caught in the crossfire of this unprecedented mandate, all eyes are on Washington to see what happens next. Will more agencies push back, or is this just the beginning of a sweeping government shake-up?
