Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
What was that ultimatum? Over the weekend, federal employees were sent an email by DOGE requiring them to list five things they accomplished last week – failure to respond, it said, would signal they had resigned – which was met with opposition from agency heads who told their employees to ignore the email, primarily from national security agencies fearing intelligence leaks.
Several key federal departments are pushing back against demands from the Department of Government Efficiency, saying that employees do not have to respond since they do not answer to DOGE, marking the first significant resistance from MAGA-aligned forces within the Trump administration.
The resistance – including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation – is noteworthy because these agencies are currently led by loyal MAGA appointees who have generally supported the administration’s efficiency initiatives. It suggests that national security could be a boundary for DOGE, and one where Trump appointees aren’t afraid to break from the president’s favorite billionaire.
Ultimately, the Office of Personnel Management – which is responsible for firing and hiring employees and has been working closely with DOGE – told workers that responding to the email was voluntary. However, Musk’s post seemed to contradict this directive.
DOGE’s public approval ratings currently rest at just 34%, according to a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll. But the only factor that is likely to curtail DOGE is Donald Trump, who thus far has shown no indication of withdrawing support for the department's efforts.
