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A noticeable divide emerged on Sunday between agency leaders under President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. The friction stemmed from Musk’s demand requiring all federal employees to report their weekly achievements or face termination.

By Sunday evening, officials at key agencies—including the Pentagon, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy—directed their employees to ignore an email from the Office of Personnel Management sent that afternoon titled: “What did you accomplish last week?”

Some supervisors, including those from the Department of Health and Human Services, initially told workers to comply by sending a list of five weekly accomplishments to a generic email address. However, they later rescinded this directive, while others advised employees to delay any responses until Monday.

The White House did not provide a comment regarding the conflicting messages between Musk’s orders and the instructions from agency leaders.

The effort to clarify the intentions behind Trump and Musk’s email request contributed to ongoing instability within the federal workforce. This situation suggested a potential clash between agency heads—who were appointed by Trump and are known to be aligned with his administration—and Musk, who has shown little respect for the established hierarchy within federal structures.

Amid this turmoil, Musk exhibited no intention of backing down.

In a post on X, the social media platform he owns, he expressed his dismay, saying, “It is EXTREMELY troubling that some parts of government consider this TOO MUCH!! What is wrong with them??”

Musk’s approach drew criticism from some Republican leaders over the weekend, including Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, who referred to the email request as “absurd.”

“If Elon Musk genuinely wants to understand what federal employees accomplished last week, he should take the time to familiarize himself with each department and agency, and learn about the roles he’s attempting to cut,” Murkowski stated on X.

Throughout Saturday night and into Sunday, top officials at each agency worked diligently to provide guidance to their employees. One of the first to advise against any response was Kash Patel, who was sworn in as FBI director just last week.

“The FBI is responsible for reviewing all our processes and will conduct evaluations according to FBI protocols,” Patel wrote. “When further information is needed, we’ll coordinate our responses. For now, please refrain from replying.”

By Sunday, a range of other agencies tasked with ensuring national safety and security followed suit, even as Trump maintained an online stance of support for Musk’s plan.

Sunday, Darin Selnick, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, communicated, “The Department of Defense has the responsibility for assessing its personnel’s performance as per its established procedures. If needed, we will coordinate our responses to the email you received from OPM. For now, please hold off on replying to the email titled ‘What did you do last week.’”

Multiple high-ranking officials within the Defense Department expressed to CNN that the email caused significant confusion over the weekend as they sought clarity on how to guide their employees in responding.

“This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve encountered in 40 years; it completely undermines the established chain of command,” one official remarked. “Such practices may occur elsewhere, but they do not belong in the DoD.”

Employees within Homeland Security received a message from the department’s deputy undersecretary for management, R.D. Alles, advising them to refrain from responding at that time, according to an email obtained by CNN.

The email sent on Sunday stated, “DHS management will respond on behalf of the department and all its divisions. No action is needed from you right now. Please hold off on any responses outside the DHS chain of command.”

Moreover, the State Department informed its widely-dispersed workforce that they were also not required to reply.

An email sent late Saturday from the acting undersecretary of management stated, “The State Department will respond on behalf of the Department. No employee is required to submit reports of their activities outside their Department’s chain of command.”

The Department of Health and Human Services reassured employees on Sunday morning that the email was authentic and instructed them to read and respond by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. ET Monday. However, this guidance was retracted later that afternoon, advising staffers to “pause” any actions regarding the email.

Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration—part of HHS—were already informed by their respective units to await further instructions until Monday. On Sunday afternoon, these divisions were instructed to halt any responses.

Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which the Trump administration is aiming to dismantle, received a directive from the agency’s chief operating officer informing them to reply to the OPM email by the specified deadline.

Yet, previous to this instruction, many employees at the bureau were told to cease operations by acting head Russell Vought. The email they received on Sunday clarified that “CFPB Leadership acknowledges that certain work tasks have ceased. If you were unable to complete tasks due to this situation, you may reply and simply state that you are abiding by the current work suspension.”

However, not all of Trump’s appointees monitoring federal workers handling sensitive information were as clear-cut or reserved in their directives.

Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for D.C., who has sought to ingratiate himself with Musk, instructed his prosecutors to choose whether to comply in a general manner.

“We are prepared to participate,” Martin wrote on Saturday. “Please respond to the HR email cautiously concerning confidentiality and our obligations. Be general if necessary. Should you face any issues, I will support you. You are covered.”

Prosecutors in his office routinely handle matters that may not be classified, but are protected by grand jury secrecy, court seals, or other confidentiality requirements.

Early Sunday morning, Martin contacted the office again, stating he quickly relayed the request from DOGE on Saturday to “encourage” his prosecutors.

“Let me clarify: we will all comply with this OPM request, whether that means replying or opting not to reply,” he indicated. “Please make a good faith effort to respond and outline your activities (or not, should you choose), and I will, as I mentioned, support you to clarify any misunderstandings.”

Martin concluded by advising, “Don’t let the pursuit of perfection hinder progress.”

Across the extensive federal workforce—from Secret Service agents and federal judges to air traffic controllers and diplomats—employees spent Sunday grappling with yet another shake-up initiated by Musk and his team.

This time, the catalyst appeared to be Trump’s social media call for Musk to adopt a more “aggressive” approach in overhauling the federal government.

Musk quickly responded with his proposition to insist that employees account for their previous week’s work. In a post on X, he warned that anyone who failed to respond would face dismissal. Hours later, as federal inboxes filled with emails, the ultimatum was notably absent.

Despite the growing chaos within the workforce, Trump appeared to remain steadfast in his support for the plan. He shared a “SpongeBob SquarePants” meme poking fun at the situation, which read, “Got done last week,” followed by a list of five points, including “complained about Trump, complained about Elon, finally made it to the office, read a few emails, and complained again about Trump and Elon.”

For many high-ranking officials, this incident illuminated the somewhat unchecked influence Musk possesses to significantly transform the federal government.

With Trump’s approval, Musk’s team of young engineers has embedded itself within numerous agencies, gaining entry to sensitive data systems and demanding justification from career employees for their positions.

Generally, the secretaries and department heads appointed by Trump have shown minimal resistance to Musk’s initiatives, instead encouraging investigations and reforms within their departments.

However, behind closed doors, concerns persist regarding the extent of Musk’s authority and whether it is appropriate for him to dictate operations within federal agencies with their unique frameworks.

By Sunday, even some members of the Republican party expressed dissent against Trump’s initiative.

“If I could offer a piece of advice to Elon Musk, it would be to incorporate a sense of compassion into this approach. These are real individuals whose lives are affected,” Senator John Curtis from Utah stated on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “It’s a misleading notion that cuts have to be merciless; we can achieve both effectiveness and kindness.”

This story has been updated with more recent developments.

CNN contributors Katelyn Polantz, Meg Tirrell, Josh Campbell, Jennifer Hansler, Priscilla Alvarez, and Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report.