Kash Patel asks FBI staff to pause any response to Elon Musk's 'justify-your-job' email

This comes as Federal Bureau of Investigation director Kash Patel reportedly asked all FBI employees to "pause any responses" to Musk's email ultimatum to federal workers.

Musk sent these emails as part of his supposedly unofficial role as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

"FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses," Patel told his staff in an email, according to an NBC report.

On Saturday, Trump's billionaire advisor Musk said that all US federal employees must justify their work or they will lose their jobs.

The move came hours after the US President pushed him to be "more aggressive" in slashing government spending.

"All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," Musk wrote.

According to an AFP report, federal workers were asked to submit "approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week."

The email came from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), with the subject line "What did you do last week?".

The deadline to reply was 11:59 pm Monday, though the message did not say failure to do so would lead to termination.