Federal personnel officials walked back Elon Musk’s demand that government workers justify their jobs in an email or face termination, saying that his request had been “voluntary.” The update from the Office of Personnel Management came after Trump-appointed officials at some agencies told employees not to respond.

Trump claimed Monday that any agencies saying not to respond to the email were doing it "in a friendly manner."

President Donald Trump responds to a question from reporters about an email to federal workers from Elon Musk asking them what they did in the last week.