The Office of Personnel Management informed federal human resources chiefs today that federal employees are not required to report their accomplishments in response to an Elon Musk-led email from OPM over the weekend.
“This afternoon OPM during a Chief Human Capital Officers Council meeting informed agencies that employee responses to the OPM email is voluntary,” read the latest OPM email, according to a person familiar.
Some agency heads defied the Department of Government Efficiency by telling their workers not to comply with an email asking to report what they did last week.
The Office of Personnel Management demanded all federal workers list what they accomplished last week by 11:59 p.m. Monday. DOGE’s head, Elon Musk, threatened to fire any employee who didn’t cooperate. But the leaders of multiple departments and agencies said this weekend and Monday that staff should not reply yet — a rare split between DOGE and agency leaders, and one that’s prompted widespread confusion across the federal workforce.
Kash Patel, the newly confirmed FBI director, told employees to hold off on their replies while the bureau reviews its own processes, and the departments of Defense and Homeland Security also told employees not to respond yet, according to NPR. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, ordered staff not to respond to avoid exposing confidential details, The New York Times reported Sunday.
An email sent to State Department employees obtained by CBS News said the department would respond on their behalf, and that employees were “not obligated” to report their accomplishments. Administrators for the federal judiciary similarly told staff, including federal judges, not to take action.
Leaders at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Energy told employees over the weekend to hold off as well, according to ABC News. On Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services told employees to respond, but changed that guidance Sunday evening urging them to pause.
A group of congressional Democrats sent a letter to 24 federal agency heads Monday morning asking them to clarify that their employees are not obligated to report their activities to OPM. Meanwhile, attorneys for a group of federal employees updated a suit against OPM to include a complaint that the latest request is illegal.
OPM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other agencies are divided from within on whether to comply. Some Justice Department supervisors sent immediate emails to their staff directing them to hold off, while the department as a whole says it’s telling employees to cooperate, Bloomberg Law reported.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees were told on Saturday not to respond, but the National Weather Service inside NOAA instructed its staff to respond.
However, some agency leaders have said their staff should reply.
The Department of Transportation told employees Monday morning that they must reply by the deadline. “Pursuant to OPM’s message to all Federal government employees, all DOT employees should respond as requested,” read a DOT guidance email obtained by NOTUS.
The chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs said in an email Sunday night that the OPM email was “valid” and encouraged employees not to send classified or personal information in their responses to it, according to HuffPost. A chief of staff at the Department of Education also directed employees to respond on Monday, saying the OPM request was legitimate.
This story has been updated after OPM sent an email telling employees they did not need to respond.
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Helen Huiskes is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.