Two federal employees are suing the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to block the agency from creating a new email distribution system — an action that comes as the information will reportedly be directed to a former staffer to Elon Musk now at the agency.

A pair of whistleblowers believe the office skirted the law by not conducting a privacy impact assessment for an alleged “on-prem” server used to send mass emails to federal employees and store information from responses.

Sources tell WIRED that the OPM’s top layers of management now include individuals linked to xAI, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and Palantir. One expert found the takeover reminiscent of Stalin.

Until very recently, the Office of Personnel Management lacked the capability to send mass emails to all federal employees, a person familiar said, fueling concerns that the agency bypassed procurement rules.

The Trump administration OPM and OMB offices went on a memo blitz on Monday, including directing agency leaders to pause federal grants and to deliver return to office plans.

Agency heads have until Feb. 7 to deliver implementation plans, which should include details on revised telework and collective bargaining agreements.

The plaintiffs claim OPM violated the E-Government Act by not releasing details of how the email system will manage federal employees’ personal information.

The Office of Personnel Management tells agency and department heads they must close all DEIA offices by the end of Wednesday and put government workers in those offices on paid leave.

Amanda Scales, a former employee of Elon Musk’s AI company, was recently tapped to be the chief of staff at OPM.

Agencies should aim for a 30-day deadline to implement Trump’s return-to-office executive order, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

Attorneys who, separately, once accused Alphabet Inc.‘s Google of censoring Republican voices and represented former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz now hold key positions at the federal government’s HR office.