No more ‘What did you do' emails: Pentagon ditches Elon Musk mandate, encourages staff innovation instead
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The Pentagon has stopped Elon Musk 's rule that made federal workers send a list of five things they achieved every week. This rule came from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk, and was very controversial, according to The Daily Beast report.Employees were told to 'be creative' now and suggest ideas to improve the Defense Department instead. Jules Hurst, acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, thanked employees for sending weekly updates so far. Hurst asked everyone to share one last idea, something small or big, that could help cut down waste or make things work better, as per reports.The rule started in March, just after Musk demanded in February that workers explain their weekly work. About 2.3 million government employees got emails titled 'What did you do last week?' from the Office of Personnel Management, as per reports.Musk wrote on X that 'not replying will count as quitting.' At first, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told everyone to ignore it. But later, he asked them to send five bullets of their weekly achievements. Hegseth even warned that 'non-compliance may lead to further review.'Congressman Joe Courtney, a top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said it was long overdue to get rid of the policy. Courtney said the emails were insulting to hardworking Defense civilians, many of whom were ex-military and deeply care about their job. The department gave staff a deadline, Wednesday noon, to submit their waste-cutting ideas, but didn't say what ideas came in, as mentioned in The Daily Beast report.This happened while Elon Musk was getting ready to leave his job as the head of DOGE. Musk posted that his time as a special government employee was ending, and thanked Donald Trump for letting him try to cut government waste. Musk had given at least $250 million to help fund Trump's 2024 campaign.Recently, Musk said he was frustrated with politics and claimed he had 'done enough' to help Republicans. He also said he was disappointed that the 'big, beautiful bill' Trump backed didn't show enough DOGE savings. Musk still believes that DOGE will grow stronger and become a way of life in government, as stated in The Daily Beast report.Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the emails have officially stopped. He said the system helped supervisors understand staff work, encouraged accountability, and found ways to improve the department. Parnell also said the Pentagon still wants to make real changes that support its mission, as per reports.Because many people found them confusing and unhelpful, and the rule got a lot of criticism.DOGE stands for Department of Government Efficiency, a short-lived group led by Elon Musk to reduce waste.
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