Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, has pushed back against Elon Musk on his second day in office by telling staff not to respond to an email demanding they list what they accomplished last week.

Pentagon officials told civilian employees to pause responses to the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) request to report five things they did last week to keep their jobs.

Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musk’s demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their jobs.

Elon Musk caused alarm among federal employees and drew ire over an email sent on Saturday requesting that employees summarize their work for the week, and warning on social media that a failure to do so would be taken as a resignation.

The directive that all federal employees share what work they accomplished last week or be fired is running into resistance, including from President Trump’s choices to lead federal departments.