They fired their own workers. They changed department priorities. They're aiming for Day
But after walking with the White House and the Lockstep for weeks, some cabinet officials and other high-level Trump appointees balked at Elon Musk's order.
The episode began Saturday in demand by musk posted on X, where federal employees will either email or resign and sum up their week's worth of performance, or rare, rebellious display in the administration's highest rank An episode about him transforming into. And it became like an effort to reduce the power of masks in real time.
Officials from the State Department, FBI, Energy Department and other agencies have directed employees to refrain from responding to mask messages. Some of the institutions that refuse to comply are run by close Trump allies such as Kash Patel, Tarsi Gabbard and Pam Bondi.
Those officials did not specifically confront Musk. A memo made to some Justice Department employees said that demands should be ignored “due to the secret and sensitive nature of the department's work,” according to an email obtained by colleague Cecilia Kang. .
And there are far fewer emails that are far more intense than the dissenting opinions from some ranks and file workers covered by my colleagues Nicholas Nehamas, Ryan Mack and Nicole Hannah Jones over the weekend.
However, what was inherent in the refusal of leaders at these institutions to follow was a clear message. My agency reports to me, not Elon Musk.
Trump sometimes encourages his advisers to make it public, but he has done little to solve the problem. He praised the mask's message today, saying that employees who did not respond were “semi-fired or fired.” But at about the same time, my colleague Michael Shear wrote, the Personnel Management Bureau told the agency that the email response was now voluntary.
Is that obvious?
As mentioned before, Musk has benefited from the confused, amorphous nature of his role. He has not been confirmed by the Senate and there is no job description. It is not clear whether he will attend Trump's first cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
However, internal resistance to his message suggests that there is at least some motivation among the members of the cabinet to define his role by saying what he says. you can't do.
Latest mask news
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Elon Musk personally called the leader of the fierce right alternative for the German party to celebrate the party's interests in last weekend's election, but she slept on the phone.
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Some voters struck Republican city hall to complain about the early moves of the Trump administration have specifically cited Musk.
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Meanwhile, he lost the fight in the fight over access to government data. A federal judge banned his team from a database of student loans.
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And it's not just a court that casts obstacles. After Musk told federal workers to send emails explaining their work and resignation, several members of President Trump's cabinet told employees to ignore it. There's more to this about the confusion and division below.
Meanwhile, with x
Musk of defense
Musk's X-feed suggests what he feels Pushback. My colleague Kate Conger explains.
On Monday, Musk shared a post pointing to a poll showing widespread support from Americans who support the government's “full-fledged efforts” to eliminate waste and fraud. .
Musk claimed this was his support for his work. “The polls show that @doge is overwhelmingly popular and should reduce government spending at least $1 trillion!!,” he wrote.
But the poll asking Musk specifically about the efficiency of his government is much more complicated.
Musk also tried to dispel his controversial mission to federal workers, as exaggerated. “It's absurd that a five-minute email creates this level of concern!” he posts, talking about former Texas lawmaker Ron Paul cutting the federal ranks.
Musk also seemed interested in showing off his support from one of the most important voters: Trump. He shared the clip from today's press conference. There, the president praised the mask work.
“The Great President,” Musk wrote accordingly.
– Kate Conger
Agent Status Report
FDA reversal
On Friday, we spoke to you about the layoffs at The Food and Drug Administration has retreated the agency's recent efforts to keep up with medical technology. My colleague Christina Jewett reports that many of those professional workers (food safety, medical device reviews, and other areas of reviews) have already been revived.
It is unclear why FDA officials overturned themselves. Christina points out that the layoffs may not save the government much money. Some of the employee's salaries are funded by fees paid to the FDA rather than the taxpayer.
Other updates from government agencies
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Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned the Secretary of Commerce that Musk's team could access trade secrets and other data from competitors held by the department.
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As employees returned to the office full-time, a fake video of masks and Trump appeared on federal housing agency television this morning.
Partnerships that were not
Campaign Kickoff in Ohio
When the idea of ​​government efficiency was born, it was assumed to be a buddy film starring two entrepreneurs: Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman and former presidential candidate for Longshot.
Ramaswamy ranks Trump after publicly clashing with some of his supporters over immigration, and he plans to run for Ohio governor after seeing himself from the federal government, and officially announces tonight did.
It's hard to imagine masks sharing the spotlight now. And the buddy films that will be performed in Washington in repeat are, of course, about Musk and Trump.
Lamaswamy's relationship with Trump has lifted his leg up in the race, my colleague Charles Homans recently reported. But his campaign could raise the question of whether Trump, and perhaps Musk, would support him.
Do you have a tip?
The Times offers several ways to send important information secretly.
