Trump Administration to End Elon Musk's 'Five Things' Email Program

In a significant policy shift, the Trump administration is set to formally discontinue a controversial program initiated by Elon Musk that mandated federal employees to report their weekly accomplishments. According to two sources familiar with the matter, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) plans to announce the termination of the "five things" email program as soon as Tuesday. The initiative, designed to foster accountability within the federal workforce, has faced backlash since its inception in February. This is because the "five things" email program sparked frustration among department heads who felt blindsided by the new requirement. Instead of leading to an increase in transparency and accountability, the program led to confusion among employees who were unclear about how to fulfill the requests.

Scott Kupor, who assumed leadership at OPM in July, hinted at this decision's likelihood when he criticized the processing of the weekly emails as "very manual" and "not efficient." He noted, "It is something that we should look at and see, like, are we getting the value out of it that at least the people who put it in place thought they were."

This is especially because many federal agencies had already begun to move away from compliance due to frustration and confusion among employees regarding the requirements. Despite this, the official announcement signals a clear turning point in the administration's approach, particularly after tensions escalated between Musk and Trump in early June. Elon Musk, who had invested significantly to support Trump's election campaign, was initially influential in driving budget cuts and workforce reductions within the federal government. However, following Musk's critical comments on Trump's tax reforms and spending in the "One Big Beautiful Bill," their relationship soured, leading to heightened conflicts including the withdrawal of the nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Furthermore, Trump threatened to revoke federal contracts involving Musk's companies after their fallout.