Elon Musk‘s initiative to have federal workers submit five-point summaries of their weekly work, part of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce the federal budget and workforce, has reportedly encountered a new obstacle: The email inbox is overwhelmed. Bloomberg reports that workers attempting to send their lists are receiving bounce-back messages indicating that their emails have not been delivered. “The recipient’s mailbox is full and can’t accept messages now. Please try resending your message later, or contact the recipient directly,” states an email reported to be seen by Bloomberg News that bounced back from HR@opm.gov.
Bloomberg News also revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services informed employees that it is aware of emails being returned from the Office of Personnel Management address and instructed them to send their weekly accomplishments to a different OPM email address. OPM and HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Bloomberg said.
The report adds that this is a significant issue for Musk, who has promoted DOGE as a solution to streamline government systems and has been seen in Washington wearing a “Tech Support” T-shirt. According to the report, in late February, more than 1 million people—less than half of all federal workers—responded to Musk’s email during the first week submissions were requested. The White House has not provided updated data.
However, Bloomberg says, the full inbox notification suggests that OPM is receiving a high volume of emails. The report claims that federal agencies have given their workers varied and sometimes conflicting instructions on whether to reply to the emails. Last week, NASA launched an app for workers to submit their reports instead of emailing OPM, which it called a “secure, internal tool.”
Donald Trump again thanks Elon Musk at Cabinet meeting
At the Cabinet meeting earlier this week, the US President Donald Trump again thanked Elon Musk for his contribution to DOGE. “Elon, I want to thank you. I know you’ve been through a lot with this horrible situation that happens, saving America. He is as a patriot. He’s become a friend of mine. He has never asked me for a thing or any favor,” said President Trump at the meeting.
