It seems some government employees aren’t too thrilled about being asked to justify their work, but Alina Habba isn’t having any of it.

The senior Trump administration official is calling out federal workers who are upset over a simple request from Elon Musk’s DOGE system—an email asking them to list five things they accomplished at work last week.

While some employees ignored the request or expressed frustration over the short deadline, Habba made it clear she wasn’t impressed with the complaints.

Habba Calls It a Simple Task That Should Take Seconds

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, Habba didn’t mince words when responding to the backlash.

“It’s very simple—would you want to pay somebody to do a job and they don’t show up to work?” she asked.

She went on to say that listing five bullet points should be an effortless task.

“I can name five things—five bullets—in about five minutes of me coming into the office every day,” she pointed out.

“If you struggle to do that for a week, there’s no excuse.”

Some government employees claimed they didn’t respond to the email because they were unsure whether they were allowed to.

Others cited confusion over instructions from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), as some agency heads told employees not to reply and instead let leadership handle it.

Habba acknowledged that some cases might be complicated, especially in departments handling classified information. “There’s reasoning behind that,” she admitted.

“Obviously, we work with top-secret information that perhaps you’re not supposed to disclose.”

Still, she insisted that overall, accountability should come first.

Musk Sets Deadline, Sparks Frustration Among Government Workers

The controversy started when Elon Musk had the OPM email sent out on Saturday night, giving federal employees until Monday at 11:59 p.m. to submit their responses.

Many workers were outraged, saying the deadline was unrealistic.

Some employees were on leave, while others didn’t have immediate access to their work emails.

Musk escalated the situation further by posting on X that any worker who failed to respond by the deadline would be considered to have resigned.

This move sent shockwaves through the federal workforce, which has already been dealing with staffing shortages and budget cuts under Musk’s restructuring efforts.

Some employees argued that with fewer resources and more responsibilities, they didn’t have time to draft reports for DOGE.

However, the Trump administration and many Republican leaders see it differently.

White House Doubles Down on Accountability

Habba made it clear that she stands by the push for government accountability.

“People need to be accountable,” she said firmly. “The reality of it is: accountability is real.”

She also emphasized that everyone in government answers to the president, who in turn answers to the American people. “I can’t not show up to work every day,” she stated.

“I have to answer to the president, and by answering to the president, I answer to the American people.”

For those still struggling to understand the request, Habba had little patience.

“I’m not sure why you’re confused or why it’s so hard to answer what five things you’ve done in the past week.”

White House Press Secretary Shares Her Own Bullet Points

To drive the point home, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared that she had personally responded to the DOGE email within minutes.

She listed some of her key tasks from the previous week, including holding a press briefing, delivering a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), staffing Trump’s speech at the event, and making media appearances on Fox News.

Her point? The request wasn’t unreasonable, and if employees were truly working, they should have no trouble listing their accomplishments.

The controversy highlights an ongoing debate about government efficiency and transparency.

While critics argue that the request was unnecessary and abrupt, supporters see it as a much-needed push for accountability in the federal workforce.

One thing is certain—this conversation is far from over.