It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
The judge expressed concern over the unresolved issues about who is in charge of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, if it is not Mr. Musk, as the White House has claimed.
President Trump said workers would be “sort of semi-fired” or fired if they didn’t comply. The Office of Personnel Management said responses were voluntary. Federal workers said they didn’t know what to do.
The former presidential candidate is seeking the top office in his home state after a brief stint on President Trump’s cost-cutting task force alongside Elon Musk.
The video, which appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence, was emblazoned with the message “Long Live the Real King.”
The American Federation of Teachers, a union representing more than 1.8 million educators, had sued to keep members of Mr. Musk’s government efficiency team out of the Education Department’s systems.
The announcement, by email, came two days after a judge said the Trump administration could proceed with plans that amount to dismantling the aid agency.
The F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and others told employees not to respond to a directive from Mr. Musk to summarize their accomplishments.
The firings added to doubts about whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency’s acting head, supports lifesaving humanitarian assistance, as he has said he does.
Elon Musk has drawn inspiration from his 2022 takeover of X, then known as Twitter, as he works to overhaul the federal government.
Some civil servants are using whatever levers they have to resist the orders of the world’s richest man, both in public and behind closed doors.