Musk's Federal Directive Faces Backlash, Agency Pushback

Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration, issued a controversial directive requiring federal employees to submit a weekly report on their accomplishments or face termination. This demand has been met with widespread backlash and deemed 'plainly unlawful' by the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 800,000 workers. In response, several US federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the FBI, instructed their employees to ignore the email, citing it as outside standard review procedures. This directive is part of a broader push by Musk and Trump to downsize the federal workforce, which has already seen over 20,000 layoffs. The email and Musk's social media posts have sparked significant tension and criticism, including comparisons to Musk's past conflict with former X CEO Parag Agrawal, whom Musk criticized for lack of productivity. The situation highlights ongoing friction between the Trump administration's aggressive bureaucratic overhaul and established federal agency procedures.