The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has escalated its controversial employee monitoring initiative by making its
“five-bullet” email requirement a weekly obligation for federal workers. The latest directive, which arrived in federal employees’ inboxes late Friday, mandates that staff members submit five bullet points detailing their weekly accomplishments, with a deadline of 11:59 PM ET every Monday.
This second wave of requests has intensified existing tensions between DOGE and various federal agencies, with several departments explicitly instructing their employees to disregard the directive. The State Department has maintained its stance that leadership will respond on behalf of its workforce, while the Energy Department has advised its staff against individual responses. Adding to the confusion, some agency leaders, such as one VA hospital administrator, have left the decision to respond up to individual employees.
The initiative’s implementation has raised significant questions about chain of command and administrative authority, particularly as many of these directives are being distributed through the Office of Personnel Management, whose authority to issue such mandates is currently under legal scrutiny. Leadership at various agencies, including Trump appointees, have expressed concerns about what they perceive as external micromanagement of their personnel.
DOGE’s leader, Elon Musk, has characterized the initiative on social media as a simple “pulse check” to identify inactive or non-existent federal employees. However, this explanation has been met with skepticism, as the requirement for five detailed bullets appears to exceed what would be necessary for a basic verification of employment status.
The lack of clear official guidance has led many federal employees to treat these submissions as potential job security evaluations, investing considerable time and effort into crafting their responses. Some federal organizations, particularly within the Department of Defense, have even distributed detailed guidelines for composing these weekly reports, including suggestions to align accomplishments with DOGE’s mission objectives.
The economic impact of this initiative has come under scrutiny. One federal employee’s analysis suggests that if two million federal workers spend just 15 minutes each on these weekly reports, at an average hourly rate of $35, the cost to taxpayers would amount to approximately $17.5 million per week. This estimate is considered conservative, as many employees report spending significantly more time on the task, including hours spent in meetings discussing the requirement and crafting appropriate responses.
Questions persist about the practical aspects of processing this massive volume of weekly information. With millions of bullet points being submitted weekly, there are concerns about how this data is being reviewed and utilized. Additionally, the initiative appears to conflict with DOGE’s stated mission of increasing government efficiency, as it creates a substantial new administrative burden for federal employees.
The situation has created a complex dynamic where federal agencies must balance compliance with operational efficiency, while employees navigate uncertainty about how their responses might affect their job security. As this program continues to evolve, the federal workforce remains caught between competing directives from their immediate supervisors and DOGE’s broader mandate for accountability.
This ongoing situation highlights the challenges of implementing large-scale administrative reforms across the federal government, particularly when questions of authority, efficiency, and practical implementation remain unresolved.