The deadline for federal employees to respond to an email order from Elon Musk that required them to summarize their recent work accomplishments has passed, leaving many uncertain about their job security.

The situation has sparked legal challenges, confusion within agencies and further scrutiny over Musk’s role in the federal government under President Donald Trump.

Last week, Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), issued the directive instructing federal workers to submit a list of five things they had accomplished over the past week by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, adding that a failure to respond would be “taken as a resignation.”

While the Office of Personnel Management initially described the email as voluntary, both Musk and Trump later emphasized that noncompliance could lead to termination.

“What he’s doing is saying, ‘Are you actually working?'” Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday while defending Musk’s directive. “And then, if you don’t answer, like, you’re sort of semi-fired or you’re fired, because a lot of people aren’t answering because they don’t even exist.”

What Will Happen to Workers Who Missed the Deadline?

Despite his initial hard-line stance, Musk later announced that noncompliant workers would receive a second chance—but only if the president deemed it necessary.

On Monday, as the deadline loomed, Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”

The Trump administration said on Monday that agencies would now have discretion over how they handle the directive.

However, multiple agencies pushed back, instructing their employees not to respond, including the Department of Justice, the FBI, the State Department, the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security.

Other agencies, such as the Transportation and Education Departments, directed employees to comply, CBS News reported.

Legal and Political Fallout

The order has triggered immediate legal action. A coalition of federal workers, labor unions and advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on Monday, arguing that Musk’s directive violated federal employment laws.

The lawsuit, led by the State Democracy Defenders Fund, called the mass termination threat “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”

Beyond the legal concerns, the directive has created tension within the administration itself. Some Trump allies—such as Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard—have instructed their agencies to ignore the order. Others—including Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy—enforced compliance. The Treasury Department told workers, “Given the voluminous and extremely important work that Treasury staff perform on a daily basis, we expect that compliance will not be difficult or time-consuming.”

The directive has also drawn criticism from members of the president’s party. Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, called the email order “absurd.” On Sunday, she wrote on X, “Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform.”

Confusion Over Agency Compliance

Following internal pushback, the Office of Personnel Management issued a follow-up memo to agency leaders, saying responses should be reviewed and evaluated, taking into account whether employees were on leave or unable to access their email before the deadline.

The memo also suggested that agencies incorporate an expectation for employees to submit weekly accomplishment reports in the future, CBS News reported.

While some agencies provided guidance on how employees should phrase their responses, others remained uncertain. The Department of Justice initially sent mixed signals. Some senior officials told employees to ignore the email, while others later directed them to comply.

Meanwhile, employees in the intelligence community were warned that responding to the email could risk disclosing classified information, The New York Times reported.

Musk’s Broader Influence in Government Downsizing

Musk’s role in the Trump administration has faced growing scrutiny, particularly over DOGE’s sweeping efforts to downsize the federal workforce. Since Trump’s return to office, thousands of government employees have been dismissed, and many agencies have been subjected to mass layoffs or forced resignations.

Those who support the billionaire’s leadership of DOGE say his efforts address inefficiencies in federal bureaucracy. However, critics argue that his efforts raise concerns over transparency, oversight and potential conflicts of interest.

Despite the varied opinions on Musk’s email order and DOGE at large, Trump continues to stand by his approach. “ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB,” the president wrote on Truth Social on February 21, “BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE.”