Top unions have accused federal workers of “unclear and illegal distractions” after the Tesla billionaires became White House licensed cost cutters.
Saturday’s email, sent to millions of employees, was the latest salvo in a mask campaign approved by Donald Trump, dramatically reducing the federal government. Over the weekend, a coalition of groups opposed to the massive layoffs asked the court to prevent retaliation against employees who failed to respond by late-night deadline Monday.
“This demand and the resulting confusion are not merely inappropriate. It destroys the key functions of the government,” said the president of the US Federation of Employees (AFGE) and the largest federal coalition, plaintiff. writes Everett Kelly, one of them. It was originally submitted to stop the mass shootings of probation workers.
He warned that demand would “slow federal employees away from their critical obligations, regardless of the outcome.” Just two examples, the attention of a VA surgeon belongs to the operating room, and the attention of an air traffic controller belongs to keeping the sky safe rather than dealing with this unclear and illegal distraction. ”
Musk’s ultimatum comes after Trump was sworn in, and mass emails to federal employees from the first federal organ musk and one of his teams, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), after Trump was sworn in It was sent on Saturday. In. This message gave over 2 million workers in the entire US government just 48 hours to itemize their results in five bullet points last week. It is considered a resignation.”
The order immediately sparks chaos across the government, with Trump’s own appointed leadership in federal agencies responding in a completely different way. Social Security Bureau workers and health and human services are told to follow the emails, and CNN reported that the Ministry of Transport ordered all employees to respond to Musk emails by the deadline. That included air traffic controllers who are currently struggling with a severe shortage of personnel and a recent accident.
Several other agencies have told employees, including the FBI, to refrain from doing so. There, new director Trump’s loyal Kash Patel asked the agent to “suspend your answer.” The Department of Homeland Security has similarly notified employees that “no reporting lawsuit is required at this time.”
All Department of Defense employees who are now former Fox News hosts and who answered Trump Accorite Pete Hegses as Secretary of Defense have been ordered to suspend responses to OPM Misab. Other federal department employees were told to wait for further orders or simply ignore the mask dict order.
“I am a frontline supervisor and have not received any communication about whether or how to evaluate this,” said the Ministry of Education employee who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. I said that. At the U.S. Forest Service, where thousands of people were fired last week, workers told the Guardian that emails added a new layer of fear and confusion, and there was no clear instructions as to whether they should follow.
“I’m worried that if I answered the wrong thing, I’ll be fired,” said a Forest Service scientist, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Other workers said the short deadline was that the weekend email amplified the atmosphere of the siege that was established since Trump took office.
James Jones, a maintenance mechanic for the North Carolina-based National Park Service and AFGE members, said he was on sick leave Monday to look after his son, but now he’s gone. I had to decide whether to drive to the office and respond to an email.
“It pisses me off, but I was expecting it,” Jones said.
Latisha Thompson, a social worker for the Bureau of Veterans Affairs and AFGE members, said that the drum beats in emails from OPM include attempts to access the same way for federal workers to resign in large numbers, including her productivity said it had reduced the number.
“This kind of threat and emailed onslaught of bullying has caused a lot of pain for me and my colleagues,” she said.
“I can’t concentrate as much as I used to. Or, whenever email came from an authoritative channel, I never felt that way.”
Trump has not considered OPM’s latest emails, but over the weekend he posted a meme on social media signaling support.
Republican majority lawmakers in Congress have largely acquiesced over the past few weeks as Trump appointed Loyalists to key positions and attempted to dismantle the entire institution. But the latest salvo against federal workers has prompted a reprimand from Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has a history of fighting with Trump.
“Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for duties they have not performed. This was not the absurd weekend emails to justify their existence.” she wrote to X.
At least 20,000 federal workers have been fired by the Trump administration, most of which have recently been hired during probationary periods where employment protection is lacking. Additionally, the White House claims that more than 75,000 employees have accepted a postponed offer of resignation.
The purge could have a strong knock-on effect on the American economy, prompting speculation that Trump is involved in one of the biggest job cut rounds in US history.
Gabriel Canon and Michael Seinath contributed the report
