Pete Hegseth Issues Update to Pentagon on Elon Musk's DOGE Order

The Department of Defense (DOD) has reversed course on its pause to a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directive issued last month, telling civilian employees they must now comply—but only to the department itself.

Why It Matters

Elon Musk who leads DOGE, an unofficial agency created through executive order, through the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent out an email near the end of February that required all federal employees to respond with five bullet points summarizing what they had achieved at work the previous week.

Musk separately noted in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the request, issued on a Saturday, was mandatory and gave a deadline of the following Monday for compliance. However, over the following 24 hours, leadership at the FBI, State Department, and DOD told employees to ignore the email as they would handle such requests internally.

When questioned about the confusion about compliance, President Donald Trump called the request "genius" and explained that some agencies wouldn't comply due to security concerns.

"That was done in a friendly matter, only thing perhaps Marco [Rubio] at State Department where they have very confidential things or the FBI where they're working on confidential things. And they don't mean that any way combatively with Elon," Trump said.

What To Know

The DOD sent out a memorandum informing employees to respond to an email from the department that will satisfy the requirement as ordered by the OPM. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the order was given after OPM and DOD clarified guidance.

In a video posted to X, Hegseth explained on Sunday that the DOD viewed the department's civilian workforce as critical, but "very big."

"Following a review of Pentagon procedures and consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, because we do, we work on topics of national security, of sensitivity, of classification, we needed to be careful on that front," he said.

"I am now directing each member of the department's civilian workforce, just civilian, to provide those five bullets on what they accomplished in their specific jobs last week, to reply to that email and cc their immediate supervisor," Hegseth added. "It's a simple task, really, as, Elon said, as the president recognized in our first Cabinet meeting. Just a pulse check."

The reports will then be consolidated by the department to comply with OPM's request and satisfy the DOGE requirements.

Musk reposted the video and wrote on X, "Much appreciated @SecDef Hegseth!" along with the saluting and American flag emojis.

Since Trump's second term began, DOGE has recommended the firing of more than 200,000 federal workers, and about 75,000 probationary federal employees have accepted buyout plans known as "deferred resignations," per the OPM.

While mass layoffs have sparked outrage among Democratic lawmakers, unions, and members of the public, Trump has stood by DOGE and Musk's work, expressing his approval of what he called a "force of super-geniuses."

What People Are Saying

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in his video statement said: "Our civilian patriots who dedicate themselves to defending this nation working for the Department of Defense are critical to our national security. As we work to restore focus on DOD's core warfighting mission under President Trump's leadership, we recognize that we cannot accomplish that mission without the strong and important contributions of our civilian workforce."

What Happens Next?

A separate notice posted on the DOD website advised that the email would go out on Monday and responses to it "should not include classified or sensitive information." Non-compliance could lead to "further review," the notice added.

If an employee does not have access to email in the 48 hours following delivery of the email, due to leave or shift work or "other reasons," the employees will only have to complete the request within 48 hours of regaining access, according to the memorandum.