United States: On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued instructions that employees had to answer an email from Trump officials about summarizing their weekly work productions despite previous guidance that responses weren’t mandated.
Millionaire Elon Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency team with his administration’s latest effort to collect employee assessments through emails distributed during Friday evening, as reported by Reuters.
Mandatory Work Summaries Now Required
Staff received an email demanding they present their weekly achievements through five bullet points.
The officials of HHS, including the FDA alongside CDC, received notification that their non-response to DOGE’s messages would lead to no adverse work-related consequences.
After reviewing Pentagon procedure Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced DOD civilian workers must respond to the DOGE email listing “5 bullets of what they accomplished in their specific jobs last week..it’s a simple task”pic.twitter.com/wgtyt2FLjY
— The Conservative Read (@theconread) March 2, 2025
Security Concerns Over Email Requests
DOGE received warnings from several government agencies, including the FBI and State Department, along with another bureau, to ignore the ransom demand.
HHS delivered an internal email to employees on Monday stating that they should handle DOGE’s message before midnight while remaining quiet about product information and work-in-progress drugs or devices.
Employees have already received warnings from HHS that answers to DOGE’s request could “be read by malign foreign actors.” On Monday, the department sent out two versions of the email, the second of which did not include the reference.
Union and Employee Frustrations
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) directed its members in a documented email to implement the “ill-advised exercise” as their agency had decided despite reservations about its validity. The union did not respond to comments regarding the matter.
Restrictions on Sensitive Information
Employees were instructed through HHS emails to cooperate with supervisors regarding the appropriate response methodology that would conceal information about grants and grantees along with contracts and contractors while also safeguarding the precise details of scientific experiments and research and reviews.
“I feel I will spend the whole day writing these five bullets in a way that does not contain sensitive information while also providing information that my job is important. I don’t know if this can be called efficiency,” said an FDA source who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, as reported by Reuters.
Exemptions and Lack of Official Response
According to the email, all workers on leave or working hours outside of office hours or deferred resignation agreements do not need to take any action.
The Health and Human Services Department declined to provide any statements.