Trump administration faces internal tensions over DOGE demands

On Tuesday, 21 engineers, data scientists, product managers, and designers resigned from DOGE in protest of the department’s efforts to “dismantle critical public services.” Their resignations came the day after Elon Musk issued a new statement on X declaring that federal employees will receive “another chance” to respond to his ultimatum email or face termination, likely triggering another wave of uncertainty throughout the US government on Tuesday.

What was that ultimatum? Over the weekend, federal employees were sent an email by DOGE requiring them to list five things they accomplished last week – failure to respond, it said, would signal they had resigned – which was met with opposition from agency heads who told their employees to ignore the email, primarily from national security agencies fearing intelligence leaks.

Several key federal departments are pushing back against demands from the Department of Government Efficiency, saying that employees do not have to respond since they do not answer to DOGE, marking the first significant resistance from MAGA-aligned forces within the Trump administration.

The resistance – including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation – is noteworthy because these agencies are currently led by loyal MAGA appointees who have generally supported the administration’s efficiency initiatives. It suggests that national security could be a boundary for DOGE, and one where Trump appointees aren’t afraid to break from the president’s favorite billionaire.

Ultimately, the Office of Personnel Management – which is responsible for firing and hiring employees and has been working closely with DOGE – told workers that responding to the email was voluntary. However, Musk’s post seemed to contradict this directive.

DOGE’s public approval ratings currently rest at just 34%, according to a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll. But the only factor that is likely to curtail DOGE is Donald Trump, who thus far has shown no indication of withdrawing support for the department's efforts.