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Donald Trump’s adopted sidekick, Elon Musk, has once again drawn widespread criticism after sending an email requesting about 2 million federal workers justify their jobs.
Unelected oligarch Elon Musk continues to steal the limelight within the United States political sphere – launching what could be described as an intimidation tactic towards federal workers across various government departments in the United States.
After assisting Donald Trump in being re-elected, Musk was seemingly rewarded with a position directly under the President – heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This makes shift organisations seek to “save taxpayers money” by cutting ‘wasteful’ government spending – a part of a quest to cut national debt.
Since then, federal government agencies have been under heightened scrutiny, with the tandem quickly asserting their plans by cutting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and reducing the size of the federal workforce.
Despite these major decisions displacing a number of workers in the public sector, Musk continues to constantly disparage this workforce. Recently, Musk apprehended the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) system, sending an email to about 2 million workers demanding they outline what they accomplished that week.
The now leaked email said: “Reply to this email with approx. 5 bullet points of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.”
“Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments.”
Firing back at Musk’s email, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) president Everett Kelley said: “Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people.”
“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life.”
The AFGE has been working overtime to push back against Trump and Musk’s continued pillory of the federal workforce, launching a lawsuit against the OPM challenging the agency after they committed mass terminations of probationary federal employees.
“This administration has abused the probationary period to conduct a chaotic, ill-informed, and politically driven firing spree. The result has been the indiscriminate firing of thousands of patriotic public servants across the country who help veterans in crisis, ensure the safety of our nuclear weapons, keep power flowing to American homes, combat the bird flu, and provide other essential services,” said Kelley.
“These actions aren’t just illegal. They are hurting everyday Americans and making us all less safe. It’s a stark reminder of the price we all pay when you stack the government with political loyalists instead of professionals.”
Trump and Musk have shown no signs of slowing down despite the legitimate ethical and legal concerns being raised regarding their actions.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
