Pentagon ends ‘What You Did Last Week’ program linked to DOGE

The Department of Defense has officially ended its weekly performance reporting initiative that asked civilian employees to submit a list of accomplishments from the previous week.

The effort began in February after federal employees received an email from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) titled “What You Did Last Week,” requesting a list of five accomplishments from the prior week.

The message coincided with demands from Elon Musk—then heavily involved with DOGE—warning that failure to respond could be interpreted as a resignation. Several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, initially instructed employees not to respond pending further guidance.

In February, Under Secretary of Defense Darin Selnick told staff to pause compliance and emphasized that performance reviews would be handled according to DoD procedures. However, by the end of the month, the department issued its own internal memorandum outlining a formalized version of the weekly reporting structure.

In a May 23 email, Jules W. Hurst III—the official performing the duties of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness—announced the program’s end and asked employees to include in their final submission one specific idea to improve efficiency or reduce waste.

The weekly reporting requirement drew attention in February after Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) that federal employees who failed to comply with the “What You Did Last Week” request should be considered to have resigned.

Musk, who had taken a leadership role at DOGE, claimed the reports were necessary to root out fraud and inefficiency, even suggesting that some government workers collecting paychecks might be fictitious or deceased. The American Federation of Government Employees condemned the initiative, calling it “cruel and disrespectful.”

In April, Musk announced he would scale back his involvement with DOGE to refocus on Tesla, but stated he would continue dedicating some time each week to government oversight “as long as it’s useful.”