Elon Musk’s ‘What Did You Do Last Week?’ Email Clogs Government Inbox

Elon Musk’s demand for federal workers to submit five bullet points detailing their week’s work has hit a new snag: the inbox is full.

Workers submitting their lists — part of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency effort to cut the federal budget and downsize the federal workforce — are receiving bounceback emails informing them their messages weren’t delivered.

“The recipient’s mailbox is full and can’t accept messages now. Please try resending your message later, or contact the recipient directly,” states an email seen by Bloomberg News that bounced back from HR@opm.gov.

The Department of Health and Human Services told employees that it’s aware emails to the Office of Personnel Management address are being returned and directed them to send the weekly accomplishments to a different OPM email address instead, according to instructions viewed by Bloomberg News.

OPM and HHS didn’t immediately respond to requests to comment.

It’s a notable glitch for Musk, who has touted DOGE as the solution to streamline government systems and has appeared around Washington sporting a black T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Tech Support.”

The weekly “five things” emails have been the subject of controversy since DOGE instituted the reports last month. Several of President Donald Trump’s department heads told employees to ignore the directive, citing security risks. 

Musk claimed workers would be fired if they didn’t reply, prompting the White House to clarify that it’s up to each agency’s leadership to determine whether workers should send weekly productivity notes to OPM.

More than 1 million people — fewer than half of all federal workers — responded to Musk’s email during the first week they were asked for submissions in late February. The White House hasn’t provided new data since then. 

Still, the full inbox notification suggests OPM is receiving a high-volume of incoming emails and raises questions about what, if anything, it’s doing with the information.

Federal agencies have given their workers varied — and, at times, conflicting — instructions on whether to reply to the emails. Last week, NASA debuted an app for workers to use to send their reports instead of messaging OPM, calling it a “secure, internal tool.”

The demands for federal employees to document their productivity has coincided with a wave of job cuts, part of DOGE’s efforts to cull the size of government. 

Workers were first offered voluntary buyouts, followed by rounds of firings of probationary employees and the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion offices. The Trump administration has also sought to effectively dismantle entire agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the US Agency for International Development.

Trump on Monday suggested the cuts could come to an end soon, telling members of his cabinet that within the next two or three months, “we’ll be pretty much satisfied” with DOGE’s personnel reductions.

Earlier: Trump Expects to Be ‘Satisfied’ With DOGE Cuts in Few Months

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