Padilla Urges Elon Musk and OPM to Stop Sending Mass Emails to Legislative Branch Employees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, urged Elon Musk and Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell to cease mass email communications from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and OPM to employees of legislative branch offices and agencies. Despite not being subject to personnel actions by the executive branch, several legislative branch offices and agencies have received mass emails from hr@opm.gov, risking the sharing of sensitive, unauthorized information.
Over the weekend, thousands of employees across the federal government received mass emails, asking them to summarize what they did in the past week, with Musk saying failure to respond would be taken as their resignation. Padilla stressed that sending these emails to legislative branch offices and agencies is particularly troubling as executive branch agencies warn their own employees not to respond to OPM’s mass email because “doing so would risk sensitive information falling into the hands of malign foreign actors.”
“Neither the White House nor DOGE nor OPM have any authority or legitimate purpose to mass email legislative branch offices and agencies demanding information from employees or to threaten adverse personnel actions,” wrote Senator Padilla. “Unfortunately, Rules Committee staff have verified that mass emails from hr@opm.gov were sent to multiple legislative branch offices and agencies, wasting time and resources and potentially misleading employees into responding and sharing legislative branch information in an unauthorized manner.”
“The fact that these mass emails are also going beyond the scope of the executive branch is yet another sign of how DOGE is operating in an uninformed, poorly executed, and chaotic manner,” continued Padilla.
Specifically, Padilla asked Musk and Ezell to take steps by Monday, March 3, to stop any further mass email communications directed at employees in legislative branch offices and agencies.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Acting Director Ezell and Mr. Musk:
Your agencies should cease directing any further mass email communications from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or the White House’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Service to the employees of legislative branch offices and agencies, who are not subject to personnel actions by the Executive branch.
Neither the White House nor DOGE nor OPM have any authority or legitimate purpose to mass email legislative branch offices and agencies demanding information from employees or to threaten adverse personnel actions. Unfortunately, Rules Committee staff have verified that mass emails from hr@opm.gov were sent to multiple legislative branch offices and agencies, wasting time and resources and potentially misleading employees into responding and sharing legislative branch information in an unauthorized manner.
This is especially concerning as several executive branch agencies have even warned their own employees not to respond to these messages because doing so would risk sensitive information falling into the hands of malign foreign actors. The fact that these mass emails are also going beyond the scope of the executive branch is yet another sign of how DOGE is operating in an uninformed, poorly executed, and chaotic manner.
In light of these inappropriate and potentially harmful actions, I ask that you confirm by Monday, March 3, 2025, that OPM and DOGE have taken steps to ensure that they will cease directly any further mass email communications at legislative branch offices and agencies and their employees.
I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Senate Rules Committee Democratic staff at 202-224-6352.
Sincerely,
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