FBI Director Kash Patel DEFIES Elon Musk's Bold Move!

Musk had demanded federal employees to justify their work or face termination.

According to Newsweek, Patel sent a message to all FBI personnel on Saturday, urging them to hold off on responding to Musk's request. The message read, "For now, please pause any responses." This move appears to be a coordinated effort from the bureau to respond to Musk's aggressive approach to downsizing the federal workforce.

February 24, 2025

President Donald Trump had previously appointed Musk and the DOGE to reduce the size of the federal government, which the President has described as "bloated" and filled with "people that are unnecessary." However, Patel's resistance suggests that not all Trump officials are in agreement with Musk's drastic cuts.

Since Trump took office, thousands of federal employees have either been dismissed or have accepted the administration's offer to resign in exchange for six months of wages. This mass layoff has sparked outrage among Democratic lawmakers, unions, and the public. Despite the backlash, Trump has stood by DOGE and Musk's work, expressing his approval of what he called a "force of super-geniuses."

Musk, on Saturday, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump's instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week," the Tesla CEO said in a post. "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

Following Musk's post, federal workers across several government agencies received an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking them to provide "approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager" by Monday 11:59 p.m. ET, as reported by NPR.

Later that day, Patel reportedly sent a message to all FBI employees instructing them not to respond to the OPM email until a coordinated response had been prepared. NBC reported the message as saying, "All, FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. 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."

Bloomberg Law also reported that supervisors at the Department of Justice (DOJ) advised employees to leave the email unanswered while they await further clarity on the situation.

Ken Dilanian, NBC News justice and intelligence correspondent, commented on Patel's letter on X, writing: "The power struggles begin. FBI Director Kash Patel tonight has instructed his employees to ignore ?@elonmusk?'s productivity inquiry, saying, essentiallywe will evaluate our own people, thanks."

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin praised Musk and DOGE's efforts on X, writing: "Great work by ?@elonmusk? and ?@DOGE?! Proud to be part of it. Let's go!" Martin encouraged staff to respond to the email.

Acting U.S. Attorney for Maryland, Philip Selden, told staff members, as reported by ABC News: "We are seeking guidance from [DOJ] about how employees in our office should respond to this request. Please note we want to be thoughtful given the sensitivity of the work we do every day."

The Trump administration's efforts to drastically reduce the size of the federal government are expected to intensify in the coming weeks. Mass layoffs of federal workers have already led to legal challenges, and these are likely to continue as Musk's authority and the legality of the sudden firings are questioned.

The OPM email asking federal employees to justify their work or be fired has already raised questions about the legality of such action. Patel, a Trump loyalist, is expected to play an even larger role in the new administration soon. On Saturday, Reuters reported that the FBI director will be named by the president as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.