It's often said that a government only has as much power as the people are willing to give it, and Elon Musk's takeover of much of the federal government might just end up proving that concept. A labor lawyer said that Musk's most recent demand is so illegal that it even has his allies jumping ship.

The Office of Personnel Management told HR officials that employees wouldn’t be let go for not replying to an email asking what they did last week.