Has Musk’s power been officially limited?
The White House announced this week that the decision on how to implement the recent directive from President Trump’s trusted adviser, Elon Musk, will be left up to the Cabinet secretaries and heads of federal agencies. Musk, serving as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, previously issued a mandate requiring federal workers to email their supervisors a summary of their accomplishments from the previous week. He made it clear that failing to respond could result in termination, stating, “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
However, on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that President Trump trusts his Cabinet secretaries to make decisions tailored to the specific needs of their agencies. Leavitt emphasized that the president supports flexibility and recognizes that each agency might approach the directive differently based on their unique goals and priorities. She assured the public that no blanket policy would be enforced across all agencies, allowing leaders to determine what works best for their teams.
Leavitt also addressed confusion surrounding the directive, explaining that some agencies had already informed their staff that responding to the email is voluntary and that no employee would face resignation for failure to reply. This aligns with previous guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, which instructed agencies to handle the situation in a manner that fits their particular workforce needs.
Some agencies, including the FBI, have issued clear instructions to staff to hold off on responding to Musk’s email. FBI Director Kash Patel told employees to “pause any responses” until further coordination can be made on how to proceed, showing that agencies are taking a careful and strategic approach to the implementation of this new policy.