Elon Musk’s grasp of self-governance

It isn’t often in the fast-paced political news cycle that a single email can cause days of sustained frustration, and endless headlines, in Washington. And yet, that’s precisely what Elon Musk accomplished with his email asking federal employees to respond with an overview of what they had done the previous week.

In his capacity at DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk fired off an email to all federal employees, which included the subject line “What did you do last week?” and requested a bullet point list of accomplishments.

The email was immediately greeted with disbelief and outrage from federal employees, and their union representatives. How could anyone dare to ask for such information?

In Real America (read: the vast part of the country not inside Washington, DC), an email from a boss or a supervisor asking for a list of accomplishments is hardly a reason to object. Almost all Americans in the workplace are required to give some accounting of their work.

Besides showcasing how out of touch federal workers are from everyday Americans, the email incident highlighted Musk’s deep understanding of the foundation of our system of self-governance. In fact, “What did you do last week?” directed at the federal government is reflective of our entire project of limited and accountable government, as envisioned by our founders. Our nation was formed as an experiment in individual liberty, and it began with Thomas Jefferson’s pen giving voice to a series of objections about the king’s poor behavior. The Declaration of Independence was, at its heart, a rhetorical question to the monarch, demanding an answer to: “What, exactly, are you doing?” The Declaration followed a series of petitions from the colonists, which all attempted to reassert the proper relationship of the governed. In the absence of a response, the colonists felt compelled to take further steps and to break free from the king. Understanding the proper relationship between the government and the governed is our birthright in the United States. That relationship dynamic forms the very basis of our government, and that balance can only be maintained, however, with accountability measures in place so the government answers to the people.

Elections, of course, are the ultimate check on our elected representatives. How to institute accountability of the sprawling federal government has proven a more difficult task, precisely because Congress has shirked so many of its oversight responsibilities and because federal employees feel empowered to ignore accountability measures.

Benjamin Franklin, for one, noted that in free governments, “the rulers are the servants” with the people serving as their “superiors and sovereigns.”

Thomas Jefferson went even further, arguing that the “ultimate powers” rested with the people themselves, and that the people would be “enlightened enough to exercise” their control over the government through education and information. Musk’s inquiry is a Jefferson-style attempt to educate the American people of what, exactly, our representative government’s workforce is doing with our taxpayer dollars.

While Musk pursues the founders’ plan for self-governance, the federal workers are apparently following the George Costanza School of Thought on how to preserve one’s job when there really is not much justification for the job. In a memorable Seinfeld scene, Jerry and Elaine asked George Costanza what he did all day and how he managed to appear busy when he had nothing to do at the office. His answer was simply, “I always look annoyed,” with the explanation that people who seem annoyed always appear to be busy.

The overwhelming majority of Americans understand the importance of what Musk, at President Donald Trump’s direction, is doing at DOGE. Reining in an out-of-control government is essential work for preserving individual liberty.

The question posed by the American people to the government, “What did you do last week?” will go a long way toward restoring the proper relationship between the governed and a government that has grown far too accustomed to ignoring the will of the people.