Politics

Trump Administration Ends Musk-Era 'Five Things' Emails

Published AUG 6 2025

Story

Above: The U.S. Office of Personnel Management headquarters on Feb. 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Facts

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced on Tuesday that Elon Musk's "five things" directive, which required federal workers to submit summaries of five workplace accomplishments every week, is no longer in effect.
Fox Business
Reuters
OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement that "managers are accountable for staying informed about what their team members are working on and have many other existing tools to do so," adding that the agency would cease to "manage the five things process [or] utilize it internally."
The Hill
The National Desk
This comes as OPM was responsible for the oversight of the responses, and as multiple agencies and other parts of the federal government had already phased out compliance with the directive even before its official termination.
Bloomberg.com
The Washington Examiner
Reuters broke the news earlier that day, reporting a memo rescinding the directive that instructed federal workers to comply with the weekly email. Last week, Kupor stated that the initiative was under review.
FedScoop
Reuters
Musk — then an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump — introduced the "five things" emails in February as part of his plans to reduce the federal workforce. At the time, Trump praised the measure, and a J.L. Partners poll found that 55% of federal workers agreed that the demand was reasonable.
Politico
The Washington Examiner
Since the departure of Musk from his role as special government employee in May, his relationship with the U.S. president has been strained over Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Jeffrey Epstein-related allegations.
Fox Business
The Hill

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

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PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Though the email strategy was meant to inspire fear in federal workers, all it did was create an unnecessary administrative burden and damage their morale. Some federal agencies considered the mandate optional even during Musk's time in the Trump administration, so it's all but a surprise that the directive has been terminated.

Business Insider

MS Now

Narrative B

Whether you like the "five things" emails or not, it's a surprise that the directive is no longer in effect now. It's certain that some agencies had long ignored the mandate, but they had lived on in others, including OPM, in a bid to maintain accountability and transparency in employee contributions.

Axios