“I can announce that we had more than one million workers who have chosen to participate in this very simple task of again sending five bullet points to your direct supervisor or manager, ccing OPM,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during the press briefing Tuesday. 

“I actually participated in it myself. It took me about a minute and a half to think of five things I did last week. I do five things in about 10 minutes. And all federal workers should be working at the same pace that President Trump is working and moving,” she added.

That amounts to roughly a third of the federal workforce, which is about 3 million. The response rate suggests workers decided to comply in an effort to avoid the threat of losing their jobs despite conflicting guidance.

“I answered the email, but followed our agency instructions and only responded to my supervisor within the chain of command,” said a federal employee who works at the Department of Commerce. “Not entirely sure what the point of that exercise was,” the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The Office of Personnel Management told agency leaders on a Monday afternoon call that responding to the Musk email was “voluntary” and that failing to respond would not be considered a resignation, according to a source familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

Later Monday, Musk posted to social media that employees would be given “another chance” to respond to the email, saying, “Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.” When asked for further clarification, Leavitt said, “The agency heads will determine the best practices for their employees at their specific agencies.”

Trump also backed Musk’s directive, saying Tuesday that it was designed to determine whether some federal workers exist.

“It says, if you don’t answer, there’s a penalty to pay,” Trump said.

A number of federal agencies, specifically those involved in national security, like the departments of  Defense, State, Homeland Security, Justice, and Energy, defied Musk and told their employees not to comply with the request. Others, such as the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, told employees that responses to the email are voluntary and that nonresponses are not considered resignations. 

Leaders at the departments of Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, the General Services Administration, NASA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget instructed their employees to comply with Musk’s request. 

Leavitt downplayed reports that Musk is planning to feed responses to the emails into an artificial intelligence system to determine whether those jobs are necessary. 

MUSK FEDERAL WORKER EMAIL SPARKS CONFUSION AND DIVIDES TRUMP CABINET

“I haven’t heard that from DOGE or from Elon himself,” Leavitt said. “Again, this is to ensure that federal workers are not ripping off American taxpayers, that they are showing up to the office, and that they are doing their jobs. That’s what the American people expect, and it’s a very simple task to complete.” 

“I did it myself, and I was more than happy to do it because I’m very grateful that I am serving the American people on the American taxpayers’ dime,” she added.