Elon Musk Reacts After Federal Worker Says Replying To DOGE Mail Felt Like ‘Living In North Korea’

Washington: A Federal worker has hit out at Trump’s close aide Elon Musk saying it felt like ‘living in North Korea’ when they were replying to the DOGE mail to tell them what work they do in office. The Federal employee lambasted the tech billionaire and asked how does he get to decide that he’s the king of the federal employees, king of HR, at the office of personal management.

The Federal worker has shared his concerns after DOGE -- Department of Government Efficiency -- formulated by the Trump administration to track government spendings, cut jobs that are not effective or add any productivity and are just misusing taxpayers money, asked hundreds of federal officials to explain their work within a deadline.

Though the mail didn’t mention that failing to reply to their mail will lead to their termination but reports say that the ultimatum definitely meant it.

Fuming out at Elon Musk and his DOGE, the Federal employee in a long video said, “Today, I responded to an email that we received as federal employees, asking us to report five things we accomplished last week. I’m not worried about my five things—I have plenty to report. I did plenty of work last week. But the absolute existential dread I felt typing out that response was overwhelming. It felt like a glimpse into the reality they are trying to create, and it was terrifying. It felt like: You will do what I say, or else."

“The email didn’t explicitly say that failure to respond would be taken as a resignation, but the post on X did. Leadership at my agency acknowledged that the email was authentic but admitted they weren’t sure if the threat was real. We were told to respond but left to decide for ourselves what to do,” the Federal employee said.

“We have received more emails about all the chaos surrounding Doge, Elon, and federal employee policies than about anything else lately. I’ve spent more time navigating these messages, attending town halls, and sitting in meetings where leadership attempts to explain what’s happening than actually doing my job. The work we are supposed to be accomplishing is being sidelined because we are all busy trying to navigate this nightmare. That is wasteful. And what about the studies we’ve been working on? If they are at risk of losing funding, what’s the point in continuing? Has the last year, two, or three years of work been for nothing,” the employee asked.

Attempt to show how powerful they are, how less are we, says Federal employee 

Continuing further, the Federal employee said that this entire exercise of informing the DOGE what we do felt like how powerful they are and how less are we. “This entire situation feels like a demonstration of power—they have it, and we do not. It’s insane. Who even is Elon in this context? How does he suddenly have the authority to dictate HR policies for federal employees? How is he the one saying, send this email, or you're fired? The logic doesn’t hold up—except as a display of control: Look how much power I have. You better listen, or your livelihood is gone.”

“Two million federal employees are expected to respond to this email. Are they really going to go through each response? Will they verify authenticity? Will they check if the listed accomplishments are relevant? It’s impossible. This isn’t about efficiency or oversight—it’s about making sure we know who’s in charge,” the employee added.

Felt like what I always imagined life in North Korea would be, Federal employee raises serious concern 

She further said, “The feeling I had while responding to that email was a terrifying glimpse into a possible, even probable, future if we don’t push back. It felt oppressive, like what I always imagined life in North Korea would be—where the energy is, yes, master, your wish is my command.”

People we are reporting have no expertise beyond technology, says the employee  

“The people we are reporting to now have no expertise beyond tech. They don’t understand federal health services, national parks, or the work that keeps these agencies running. And now, half the CDC workforce is gone. National park rangers? Largely gone. These are people who dedicated their lives to their careers, who went to school for this, who built decades-long professions—only to have a group of young tech executives take it all away,” she added.

Federal employees take an oath to the Constitution, just like military personnel and elected officials. That oath means something. The government continues to function because people do their jobs. Sure, there are always those who don’t, in any system, but this isn’t about questioning our work. It’s about power—exerting it over us," she mentioned.

I am the captain now energy is terrifying, Federal worker attacks Musk    

The Federal worker at the end of more than a 4-minute video concluded by saying that this I am the captain now energy is terrifying as this is a glimpse into a future none of us should want. “The whistleblower That is what everyone should be afraid of: when those in charge start flexing their authority, not for efficiency, not for accountability, but just to show they can. The I am the captain now energy is terrifying. This is a glimpse into a future none of us should want.”

Elon Musk responds to Federal worker 'North Korea' remark

Trump's close aide Elon Musk who is heading the DOGE responded to this long video by the Federal employee saying, “out of touch with reality, to say the least.” The billionaire tech giant also shared a screenshot of a BBC story with caption “North Korea: Residents tell BBC of neighbours starving to death," which appeared as if he wanted to hint what exactly is like living in North Korea.