The latest stage in Elon Musk’s effort to purge the civil service came on Saturday afternoon with an email to federal workers asking: “What did you do last week?”

“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager,” the message from the US Office of Personnel Management read. “Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments. Deadline is this Monday at 11:59pmEST.”

The message stoked fear throughout the civil service, as many smelled a trap set by a capricious overlord looking for excuses to fire them. And indeed, on X, Musk posted an ominous threat: “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Yet it also stoked a surprising amount of pushback from Trump appointees inside the administration itself. Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent messages to their employees telling them not to reply. So did officials at the departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services. Several such messages emphasized that agency heads are responsible for employee review — meaning that Musk isn’t.

Amid a swirling backlash, Musk acted defensively........

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