Welcome to the online edition of From The Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that provides the latest reports and analysis from the NBC News Politics team’s White House, Capitol Hill and Campaign Trail.
In today’s edition, we’ll look at how Elon Musk’s weekend email directive to federal employees caused disruption across the government. Additionally, Ohio’s own Henry J. Gomez stocks what the governor bid for Vivek Ramaswamy means for the establishment of the state’s GOP.
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– Adam Walner
Elon Musk’s email ultimate leads to mixed messages for federal workers
Federal employees have started another task of receiving mixed messages from the top.
Over the weekend, Elon Musk said he’ll receive emails at X asking federal workers to report what they’ve achieved last week or to lose their jobs.
An email from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) did not mention the threat of resignation, but said: CC manager with 5 bullets of what you achieved last week. Do not send any classified information, links, or attachments. The deadline is 11:59pm EST this Monday. ”
President Donald Trump accepted the mask move and told reporters there were “many geniuses” when sending emails. “If you don’t answer, you’re kind of semi-fire or fired,” Trump said.
However, later that day, OPM told the agency that the response to the email was actually voluntary.
Chaos and confusion: Before that, various agencies provided various instructions on how to process emails.
Some agencies, including those led by Trump’s allies, have directed employees to ignore the order.
Department of Justice employees were notified Monday that they would not have to respond to messages, according to an email seen by NBC News.FBI Director Kash Patel. Unique reviews. Employees from the State Department, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency and the Director of National Intelligence were told not to respond to emails. Notify them that the response is “voluntary and not necessary.”
However, at other agencies, employees were told to respond and were given guidance on how to do so.
Department of Health and Human Services officials and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have instructed employees to respond at deadlines. The email sent to a Department of Transport employee and obtained by NBC News has instructed them to respond to OPM emails. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy embraced the challenge with a social media post. Administrators within the Environmental Protection Agency sent employee model responses to an email to make it easier.
What happens next: Email responses are expected to be fed to an artificial intelligence system to determine whether or not those jobs are needed, according to three sources with knowledge of the system. It’s there.
Read more →
Things you need to know from today’s President Trump
Trump told reporters during his visit with French President Emmanuel Macron that the US and Ukraine were “very close to a final contract” on rare earth minerals. He also said that “the European military could enter Ukraine as a peacemaker” as part of the deal to end the war with Russia. The United States voted against a UN resolution denounced Russia for its Ukrainian invasion. Current and former FBI officials have expressed shock and disappointment at the selection of Trump commentator Dan Bongino as the agency’s assistant director. FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to assume the role of another top law enforcement agency as director of alcohol and head of cigarettes, firearms and explosives. A federal judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order against the White House for denying full access to the Associated Press. The Trump administration is trying to eliminate 2,000 positions at the U.S. International Development Agency after a federal judge ruled that fire could move forward. A federal judge blocked the education department and the OPM from sharing personal information about the plaintiffs, which are part of the lawsuit against the Trump administration.
How Vivek Ramaswamy’s Doge Candidate Confuses Old Guard Ohio GOP
Henry J. Gomez
CLEVELAND – The newly launched bid for the Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy aims to continue the recent trends in Buckeye.
JD Vance was best known at the time for his bestselling memoirs that made Ron Howard an Oscarbait film, but he did it first. Trump’s support drove Vance out of the busy, messy Senate primary three years ago, setting him on the path to becoming vice president. Auto dealer Bernie Moreno repeatedly took the formula last year to kill the Ohio GOP establishment on another high-stakes primary on the way to steal Sherrod Brown.
Ramaswamy’s 2026 effort could still be the most destructive effort. And not because he’s talking about measures like Doge and promoting merit-based teacher pay if he’s elected. Once a model of unwavering stability, there was a rattle domino effect on Ohio’s deep but best Republican bench.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is a term-limited Republican and has long imagined his lieutenant governor, John Husted, to take over him. However, Vance’s election as VP created an opening. And with Ramaswamy already causing a stir over the 2026 campaign for the governor, many have seen DeWine being appointed to safely land Vance’s Senate seat.
But it was just one domino. Two other Republicans, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and state treasurer Robert Sprague, were already preparing their own campaign for the governor. Yost went on, first launching, and took some swipes at Ramaswamy last week in an interview with NBC News. Meanwhile, Sprague saw the writing written on the wall and announced that he would support Ramaswamy and run for Ohio Secretary instead.
Democrats have not been elected governor in Ohio since 2006. Since 2010, Brown is the only Democrat to acquire a non-judicial statewide office. In the meantime, Republicans have built a roster of ambitious office holders who have been planning their next move for the past 15 years.
Ramaswamy threw many of these plans with flux. Republicans who wanted to run for governor are running for Secretary of State. Republicans who wanted to run for Secretary of State are running for state treasurer. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who lost the Senate primary last year and remains one of the state’s most power-hungry Republicans, has a clear path to an elected office. I realized that, and announced the state auditor’s run.
One notable question: Will the wings of Dewine’s party’s old guard intervene with one last push, perhaps by pushing new Lieutenant Colonel Jim Tressel as a candidate?
Tressel, a former Ohio State football coach with a celebrity factor in Lamaswamy’s high name recognition, has not ruled out running. However, outside the TresselforGovernor.com website there are few indications that a Tressel spokesman rejected last week’s knowledge.
today’s other top stories
Durethout Tough Path: House Republicans are trying to move forward with a drastic budget solution this week to advance Trump’s legislative agenda. But they have little room for error and some GOP lawmakers are on the fence. Read more → 🍎Tax tensions: Apple has reaffirmed its commitment to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the US in the future amid pressure from Trump and the growing threat of his tariffs. Read more → 💵doge Dollar: Trump and Musk are sending checks to Americans with funds that Doge recover by reducing the federal government, but low-income Americans may not benefit yeah. Read more → 📄 Next Steps for Dismissed Workers: Federal workers trying to challenge fire can go before the modest Merit System Protection Board and face a process that could take months It has sex. Read more →⚖️ScotusWatch: The Supreme Court refused to consider cases aimed at overturning the so-called buffer zone through which protesters can reach an abortion clinic. Read more →
For now, it’s all from the political desk. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman.
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