The Trump administration on Monday appeared to be quickly retreating from Elon Musk's demand that all federal workers send an email by the end of the day highlighting their achievements or resign.

The missive from Musk, which echoed a tactic he used during his 2022 takeover of the social platform X, then known as Twitter, led to a chaotic weekend for thousands of federal workers. Allies or Trump picks leading federal agencies, including FBI Director Kash Patel, told their workers to ignore the order and that they would make decisions on their own personnel.

By Monday afternoon, responding to the email was voluntary, according to guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), a clear signal that even within the administration, some saw Musk as having gone too far.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans criticized Musk, saying what he had done was inappropriate.

"I don't think it was handled very well in terms of the surprise element of it or what the point of it was," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said. "That I think was confusing, because I think there were a couple different explanations. I think a little clarification on the voluntary part is probably good."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the demand was outside Musk's purview.

"I was glad to see some of the new department and agency heads push back against that. It should not be Elon Musk's call, and I was glad to see the pushback," Collins said.

A source close to Trump's orbit said Musk’s carelessness with his communications and lack of respect for agency heads is at issue.

“Musk is taking water unnecessarily. He underestimates Patel’s political power, less Rubio, Gabbard, and carelessly lacks a sustained, proactive communications effort that articulates not just the macro ‘CUT’ message but one that also manages the day-to-day drip of Washington process media,” the source said, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Federal employees received a three-sentence email Saturday from OPM, directing them to respond with five bullet points about what they accomplished over the past week by 11:59 p.m. EST Monday.

In a separate post on X, Musk,........

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