Pentagon Orders Civilian Staff to Justify Work in Musk-Led Review
The Pentagon has instructed its civilian employees to provide a list of five bullet points detailing their accomplishments from the previous week, after initially saying they did not need to respond to a cost-cutting czar's demand. The move follows days of confusion over whether federal workers needed to reply to an ultimatum that they justify their jobs or risk termination. The request has raised concerns about the authority of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency under the US Constitution.
- This memo marks a striking example of executive power being wielded in a way that is unaccountable and opaque, undermining trust in government institutions and sparking fears about the erosion of civil service norms.
- What are the implications for the accountability and transparency of government decision-making when senior officials like Elon Musk have unprecedented authority to dictate what workers must do?