WASHINGTON>> The turmoil that enveloped the federal workforce over the last few days is unlikely to cease anytime soon as the U.S. government’s human resources agency considers how to fulfill Elon Musk’s demands.

The Office of Personnel Management told agency leaders Monday that their employees did not have to comply with a Musk-inspired edict for workers to report their recent accomplishments or risk getting fired. But later that evening, OPM sent out another memo suggesting that there could be similar requests going forward — and workers might be sanctioned for noncompliance.

“Agencies should consider whether the expectation for employees to submit activity and/or accomplishment bullets should be integrated into the agency’s Weekly Activity Report,” wrote acting director Charles Ezell. He added that “agencies should consider any appropriate actions regarding employees who fail to respond to activity/accomplishment requests.”

OPM originally sent employees an email over the weekend with the subject line “what did you do last week?” Recipients were asked to respond with “approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished.”

President Donald Trump did little to clear up the situation while talking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

“It’s somewhat voluntary,” he said, but added that “if you don’t answer, I guess you get fired.”

Trump repeated his claims that taxpayer paychecks were going to nonexistent employees and said that workers could have additional opportunities to report their activities.

“If they don’t write back, they end up eventually losing their job,” he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that more than 1 million employees had responded to Musk’s request, which would be less than half of the estimated 2.4 million people in the federal workforce, according to U.S. statistics. She said the idea came directly from Musk, who used similar management tactics at his own companies, and she said that the administration was “working as one unified team.”

Federal workers faced conflicting directions on whether to respond. One employee, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation, was told to expect guidance that the request was optional. But when that never came, the employee sent in bullet points to avoid possible repercussions.

Musk continued to press the issue on X, his social media platform, and criticized people in the administration that stood in his way.

“The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!” he wrote. “Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers.”

He also approvingly shared the news that unemployment numbers were rising in Washington, saying “the D.C. swamp is actually draining.”

The billionaire entrepreneur, who serves as Trump’s most powerful adviser, also suggested that he’s being held back from even more dramatic reductions in government spending.

“I will do whatever I can,” he wrote in response to calls for deeper cuts. “There are limitations place(d) upon me.”

Although the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was Musk’s brainchild, the White House has said he’s not directly running the team. A Justice Department lawyer told a judge during a recent hearing that he wasn’t sure who was serving as the administrator, and Leavitt declined to answer the question at Tuesday’s press briefing.