Elon Musk is warning federal workers: Don’t doge this order.
The tech mega-billionaire said early Monday that government employees who are still working from home will be put on administrative leave starting this week as he leans into President Trump’s call to “get more aggressive.”
“Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning,” Musk, 53, wrote on X in response to a clip of Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) claiming that half of government buildings aren’t occupied.
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Musk has billed his efforts at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as an effort, in part, to ensure that Trump’s executive orders are being properly carried out.
The Office of Management and Budget created a carveout for the return to office mandate for workers with “disability, qualifying medical condition, or other compelling reason.”
OPM, an agency that Musk’s DOGE works with, has estimated that roughly 10% of the federal workforce permanently works remotely due to those types of exemptions.
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It’s not clear whether Musk wants to terminate employees with medical exemptions, as well.
Musk’s early Monday warning to federal employees comes on the heels of a weekend ultimatum to employees to email OPM five bullet points of their accomplishments last week.
OPM had blasted out the Musk-directed email to all federal workers on Saturday and gave them a Monday at 11: 59 p.m. deadline to reply. Musk then publicly wrote on X that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation” — a key provision that was not noted in the email blast.
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Soon, an apparent power struggle between OPM and a handful of government agencies and department heads erupted.
Top 10 Federal Agencies in DOGE cost savings:
- Dept. of Homeland Security – $8,164,242,813
- Agency for International Development – $ $6,541,505,466
- Dept. of Education – $1,093,628,949
- General Services Administration – $197,423,082
- Dept. of Agriculture – $ $173,077,305
- Dept. of Health and Human Services – $ $155,126,548
- Dept. of Commerce – $ $119,337,295
- Environmental Protection Agency – $45,624,626
- Office of Personnel Management – $27,659,209
- Dept. of Housing and Urban Development – $25,049,711
*Numbers calculated by The Post based on savings from contract and real estate cancellations provided on DOGE’s website
Leaders of some intel and security agencies, including FBI director Kash Patel, sent out follow-up email blasts to their workers advising them not to respond. Patel told his staffers that the bureau, not OPM, is in charge of personnel decisions.
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The Musk-directed email came not long after Trump publicly nudged Musk to “get more aggressive.” Trump made the request amid media reports of growing friction between Trump administration officials and Musk.
Musk has a reputation for sending similar email blasts to workers at his companies.
Thus far, the Trump administration is estimated to have fired or laid off at least 20,000 workers.
* Original Article:
https://nypost.com/2025/02/24/us-news/elon-musk-warns-that-govt-employees-still-working-from-home-will-be-put-on-leave-this-week/?utm_source=smartnews&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=referral