Musk Ultimatum’s email leads to mixed messages: from the political bureau

Welcome to the online version of Political officeAn evening newsletter that brings you the latest report and analysis of the NBC News Policy team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign campaign.

In today’s publishing, we examine how the Elon Musk weekend electronic messaging directive to federal employees triggered confusion through the government. In addition, the own Henry J. Gomez of Ohio takes stock of what the offer of governor of Vivek Ramaswamy means for the establishment of the GOP of the State.

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– Adam Wollner

Elon Musk Ultimatum’s email leads to mixed messages for federal workers

Federal employees have started another week of work to receive mixed messages from above.

During the weekend, Elon Musk said on X that federal workers would receive an email asking them to report what they had accomplished last week or lose their jobs.

The e-mails of the US Office of Personal Management (OPM) have not mentioned the threat of resignation, but said: “Please answer this email with approximately. 5 balls of what you accomplished last week and CC your manager. Please do not send classified information, links or attachments. The deadline is this Monday at 11:59 p.m. Monday.

President Donald Trump adopted Musk’s decision, telling journalists that there was “a lot of genius” in sending the email. “If you do not answer, as you are sort of semi-fusion or you are fired,” said Trump.

But later in the day, OPM told agencies that the e-mail responses were in fact voluntary.

Chaos and confusion: Before that, different agencies provided different instructions on how to manage emails.

Some agencies – including those led by nearby Trump allies – have told their employees to ignore the directive.

• Employees of the Ministry of Justice were informed on Monday that they did not need to respond to the message, according to emails observed by NBC News.
• FBI director Kash Patel asked employees during the weekend to “suspend any response” to email, and said his agency would do his own exam.
• Employees of the State Department, National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were invited not to respond to the emails.
• The Ministry of Agriculture has also sent an unsigned e-mail to employees informing them that any response “is voluntary and not required”.

But in other agencies, employees were invited to respond or give advice on how to do so.

• Managers of the Department of Health and Social Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have ordered employees to respond by the deadline by the deadline.
• An e-mail sent to employees of the Ministry of Transport and obtained by NBC News also asked them to respond to OPM emails. Sean Duffy transport secretary took up the challenge Himself in an article on social networks.
• The managers of the Environmental Protection Agency sent employees to the model’s responses to the email to facilitate their task.

What happens then: E-mail responses should be made in an artificial intelligence system to determine whether these jobs are necessary, according to three sources knowing the system.

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What to know of the Trump presidency today

• Asset Tell to journalists During a visit to French President Emmanuel Macron, the United States and Ukraine are “very close to a final agreement” on the minerals of rare land. He also said that “European troops can go to Ukraine as peacemakers” as part of an agreement to end the war with Russia.
• The United States voted against A United Nations resolution condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
• Current and former FBI officials Chock and dismay expressed During the selection of the commentator Dan Bongino by Trump as deputy director of the agency, a position which was generally held by an agent of the FBI of career.
• FBI director Kash Patel is should take Another role of high level of application of the law as head of the alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives office.
• A federal judge refused to issue A temporary ban prescription against the White House for having denied full access to Associated Press, requesting a more complete briefing before making a decision.
• The Trump administration seeks to Eliminate 2,000 jobs To the American Agency for International Development after a federal judge ruled that layoffs could move forward.
• A federal judge blocked the Department of Education and the OPM Personal information sharing on complainants who are part of a prosecution against the Trump administration.

How Dogek Ramaswamy’s DOGE candidacy disrupts Ohio Gop in the old way

By Henry J. Gomez

Cleveland – The new Vivek Ramaswamy offer for the Ohio governor aims to continue a recent trend in the state of Buckeye – one where a right -wing republican foreigner with zero electoral experience undertakes in high functions on Donald’s tails Trump.

JD Vance, at the time best known for a successful memory that Ron Howard turned into Oscar’s film, was the first to do so. Trump approval catapulted Vance into an overcrowded and disorderly primary of the Senate three years ago, putting it on the path of vice-president. The automotive dealer Bernie Moreno repeated the formula last year, killing the Ohio GOP Establishment in another primary with high issues on the implementation of the Democratic Sherrod Brown Senator.

Ramaswamy’s effort in 2026 could be the most disruptive to date – and not only because it is Talk about promoting DOGE type measures And the professor based on merit paid if it is elected. He had a domino effect in clicking on the deep but heavy republican bench of Ohio, formerly an unshakable model of stability.

The governor of Ohio Mike Dewine, a limited term Republican, has long envisaged his lieutenant-governor, Jon Husted, succeeding him. But the election of Vance as a VP has created an opening. And with Ramaswamy already making noise on a 2026 campaign for the governor, many saw the appointment by Dewine de Husted at the siege of the Senate of Vance as a safe landing.

But it was just a domino. Two other Republicans, the Ohio Attorney General, Dave Yost and the Treasurer of the State, Robert Sprague, were already far from preparing their own campaigns for the governor. Yost went ahead and was launched first, and in an interview with NBC News last week made several balls in Ramaswamy. Sprague, on the other hand, saw the writing on the wall, approved Ramaswamy and announced that he would appear instead for the secretary of state of Ohio.

A democrat has not been elected governor in Ohio since 2006. And since 2010, Brown has been the only democrat to win a non -judicial state office. Meanwhile, the Republicans have built a list of ambitious occupants who have spent the last 15 years plotting their next move.

Ramaswamy has launched a lot of these flow plans. A republican who wanted to appear to the post of governor presents himself for the Secretary of State. A republican who wanted to present himself to the Secretary of State presents himself for a treasurer of the State. The secretary of state limited to terms, Frank Larose, who lost a primary in the Senate last year and remains one of the most eager republicans in the state, found himself with few obvious paths to be elected officials and announced a race for the state auditor.

An exceptional question: the old Dewine goalkeeper of the Dewine Festival will make one last push to retaliate and intervene – perhaps by pushing new Lieutenant-Governor Jim Tresl As a candidate?

Tresl, a former popular football coach from Ohio State with a celebrity factor to correspond to the recognition of the high name of Ramaswamy, did not exclude the race. But there are few signs – Apart from a tresselforgovernor.com website That a spokesperson for the Tressel denied the knowledge of last week – that he or anyone working on his behalf lays the foundations for a campaign.

It’s all of the political bureau for the moment. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman.

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