Elon Musk warns remote federal workers of administrative leave

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Federal employees who have not returned to in-person work will be placed on administrative leave this week, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk said early Monday.

“Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning,” Musk wrote in a post on X, “Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave.”

His comments came in response to Representative Ralph Norman who claimed many federal agencies were operating with half-empty offices.

Trump earlier warned employees to return to their office or face termination, arguing that reduced staffing would make the government “smaller and more efficient.”