WASHINGTON (TNND) — Elon Musk has issued a second demand for federal workers to submit progress reports detailing their accomplishments from the previous week, despite initial confusion over the directive. Musk tweeted, “Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”

It’s the second attempt at trying to get federal employees to justify their jobs by asking for five bullet points on what they accomplished the previous week. The initial request via email led to several agencies telling their employees to ignore the email, while other agencies told their employees to reply. Workers were given a Monday night deadline or faced termination, according to Musk. The Office of Personnel Management clarified the ultimatum Monday night and left it to individual agencies to decide whether their employees should comply, leading to mixed messages.

The White House again backed Musk’s ultimatum and encouraged federal workers to respond, but also gave agency heads discretion.

“We advise the federal workforce unless your agency has dictated you not to, to respond to this email. In fact, I can announce we’ve had more than one million workers who have chosen to participate in this very simple task,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.

A recent Harvard Caps/Harris Poll indicates strong public support for reducing government spending, with 83% favoring spending cuts over tax increases and 77% advocating for a comprehensive review of government expenditures. However, Musk’s favorability in the poll stands at 44%, and 58% of voters oppose his Department of Government Efficiency having access to Americans’ sensitive information.

Republican lawmakers have faced backlash at town halls over job cuts pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Representative Rich McCormick, R-Ga., was jeered and questioned at a town hall last week.

“They have vested interests in their retirement. I want to have compassion. I think Elon Musk talked to us about that a long time, a couple of years ago,” he said Monday.

Other Republicans around the country have been getting similar treatment. Some have blamed activist groups for trying to stir the pot, but also have responded by suggesting there needs to be a lighter touch with the government slashes.

“I think some of this is happening too fast and furiously, there are rash decisions being made, and it needs to kind of slow down a little bit,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.

DOGE had another setback this week. According to the Associated Press, more than 20 federal technology staffers, including engineers and data scientists, have resigned from the DOGE team, stating they would no longer use their skills to “dismantle critical public services.”