Trump and Musk Suggest Mass Firing of Federal Employees Who Don’t Justify Their Jobs

News
Bente Birkeland
February 27, 2025
10 minutes read

(AP Photo)

President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk are considering the termination of up to a million government employees who failed to respond to Musk’s request for an email justifying their jobs. During the first Cabinet meeting of Trump’s second term, Musk was asked about the fate of employees who did not comply with his request.

“About half of the government employees so far appear to have responded to your request for what they’ve been doing over the past week,” a reporter noted. “Is there a timeline in place for the next moves for people being fired, and when can the American people expect to see results of that?”

Musk defended the request as a “pulse check,” suggesting that some government employees might be deceased. “A number of people on the government payroll are dead, which is probably why they can’t respond,” Musk said. He further alleged that some employees might not even exist.

“And some people who are not real people, like they’re literally fictional individuals that are collecting – well, somebody’s collecting paychecks on a fictional individual,” Musk claimed. Another reporter pointed out that nearly a million employees had not yet responded to Musk’s inquiry.

“Does that mean that the remaining one million or so federal employees now risk being terminated?” the reporter asked. Musk said Trump had urged him to take stronger action. “The president encouraged me to be more aggressive via Twitter, social media, and phone calls,” Musk responded. “And I was like, OK, you know, yes, sir, Mr. President, we will indeed do that.”

Donald Trump and Elon Musk SpaceX Starship rocket — (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“If the job is not essential or they’re not doing the job well, they obviously should not be on the public payroll,” he added. Trump then weighed in, reinforcing the idea that non-responsive employees could be at risk of termination.

“I’d like to add that those million people that haven’t responded, though, Elon, they are on the bubble,” Trump stated. “They haven’t responded. Now, maybe they don’t exist. Maybe we’re paying people that don’t exist.”

“But those people are on the bubble, as they say,” he continued. “Maybe they’re going to be gone. Maybe they’re not around. Maybe they have other jobs. Maybe they moved, and they’re not where they’re supposed to be.”

The proposal has sparked debate over the effectiveness and necessity of such a sweeping measure. Critics argue that mass firings could disrupt essential services, while supporters see it as an opportunity to reduce government inefficiency. The administration has not yet provided a formal timeline for potential job cuts.