Patel tells FBI employees to pause any responses to DOGE email

FBI Director Kash Patel told employees to hold off on responding to an email, sent at tech billionaire Elon Musk’s direction, asking federal workers to list their accomplishments during the previous week.

In a memo obtained by NewsNation, Patel said the bureau would handle future responses to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) inquiries.

“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information,” Patel wrote in his message. “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures.”

“When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses,” Patel continued. “For now, please pause any responses.”

Musk — who has led the White House effort to slash the federal government — announced Saturday afternoon on his social platform X that federal employees would soon get an email “requesting to understand what they got done last week.”

“Failure to response will be taken as a resignation,” he added.

The message, reviewed by The Hill, told federal employees to “please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullet points of what you accomplished last week,” copying their manager, by 11:59 p.m. EST Monday.

The FBI is not alone in instructing its personnel not to reply to the email, at least for now.

NBC News reported that the State Department also instructed its employees not to respond.

“The State Department will respond on behalf of the Department. No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command,” read a notice from Tibor Nagy, acting under secretary for management at the State Department.

The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment.

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