The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email to federal employees, including those at NASA, on February 22nd requesting a list of their accomplishments from the previous week. This followed a social media post by Elon Musk, where he stated that failure to respond would be considered a resignation. The OPM email, however, didn’t contain this threat.
NASA's internal response was initially divided. The Science Mission Directorate initially encouraged employees to respond, viewing it as an opportunity to showcase achievements. However, this was later reversed, with employees advised to wait for further guidance.
Other agencies, including the FBI and State Department, also urged employees not to respond immediately. Congress also voiced concern, with Rep. Gerry Connolly stating, “The capricious dismissal threatened in Mr. Musk’s post is illegal and cannot be tolerated.”
Musk claimed the email aimed to identify non-existent or deceased employees collecting paychecks, but offered no evidence. President Trump seemingly supported Musk’s actions. NASA postponed planned media briefings on the ISS Expedition 73 and Crew-10 launch, offering no explanation for the delay.
The planned briefings were originally scheduled for February 24th, but have been rescheduled following a flight readiness review (March 7th) and after the Crew-10 arrival at the Kennedy Space Center.
NASA officials are still expected to participate in upcoming briefings related to the IM-2 lunar lander mission and the SPHEREx/PUNCH missions. The situation remains unresolved, highlighting significant concerns about authority, employee rights, and data security within the federal government.