"To be clear – this is irregular, unexpected, and warrants further validation," a senior executive at the National Centers for Environmental Information, an agency that manages environmental data and is part of the Commerce Department, wrote.
Some officials welcomed the move. Ed Martin, Trump's nominee for U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., who is serving in an interim capacity, praised Musk and DOGE in an email response.
But other offices within the Justice Department, including the executive office that supports all U.S. attorneys and the department's civil division, told employees not to reply pending additional information.
Employees at the Drug Enforcement Administration, part of the Justice Department, were told to respond, according to an email seen by Reuters.