Departments with sensitive or confidential tasks, such as the FBI or Pentagon, initially told employees to ignore the order from DOGE and OPM.

Allen Control Systems CEO Steve Simoni said DOGE's impending DoD audit will uncover "all kinds of wasteful spending" amid the Pentagon's need to modernize to keep pace with China.

Some federal agencies, including the State and Defense Departments, told their employees not to respond to an email asking for a list of tasks they completed.