Lucy Devine
Donald Trump has instructed Elon Musk to 'get more aggressive' after all federal workers received the same email earlier this week.
In a post on X, Trump wrote: "Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive.
"Remember, we have a country to save but ultimately, to make greater than ever before. MAGA!"
In response, Musk said: "Will do, Mr. President!"
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People were confused over the tweet, with one person commenting: "Why’d he have to put that out on social media instead of just talking to you, Elon?"
While another said: "MORE AGGRESSIVE!?"
And a third added: "Take it easy. Give people time to process!!!"
On Saturday (February 22), Musk - who is head of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) - announced that federal workers had received an email asking them to account for what they had done in the last week - or resign.
Writing on X, he said that workers would 'shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week'.
"Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," he added.
The government's HR agency, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirmed the email was legitimate in a statement to CBS.
"As part of the Trump administration's commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, OPM is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week by the end of Monday, CC'ing their manager," it said.
"Agencies will determine any next steps."
According to the BBC, employees were asked to list their accomplishments in five bullet points.
In response, Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees 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."
On Sunday (February 23), Musk said that 'a large number of responses have been received already' explaining that 'these are the people who should be considered for promotion'.
"The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!" He added.
"In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud."
Speaking of cuts, Trump told crowds at the Conservative Political Action Conference: "We're removing all of the unnecessary, incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats from the federal workforce.
"We want to make government smaller, more efficient," he added. "We want to keep the best people, and we're not going to keep the worst people."