Musk suggests shutting down USAID in US government cost-cutting push

Photo: Instagram/@elonrmuskk

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to shrink the federal government, shared an update on Monday about the progress of this mission. He mentioned that the U.S. government is taking steps to close down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is responsible for providing foreign aid.

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Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, discussed these plans during a social media talk on X, a platform he owns. Trump has chosen Musk to lead a team focused on cutting costs in the U.S. government. The conversation included Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, and Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Mike Lee. During the chat, Musk shared that they were working to shut down USAID, explaining that the agency is "beyond repair" and that President Trump agreed with the decision.

At the same time, many USAID workers were told to stay home and work remotely on Monday, as they were instructed not to come to the agency’s office in Washington, D.C. An email sent to employees mentioned that more instructions would follow soon.

On Sunday, Reuters reported that two top security officials at USAID were removed after attempting to block DOGE representatives from accessing restricted areas of the agency’s building. Later, Trump called USAID "run by a bunch of radical lunatics" and mentioned plans to remove them and make a final decision about the agency’s future.

USAID is the largest donor of foreign aid in the world. In 2023, the U.S. sent $72 billion to support various causes globally, including women’s health in conflict zones, clean water access, HIV/AIDS treatment, energy security, and anti-corruption efforts. USAID provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024. However, the agency’s website appeared to be offline on Saturday, and some users struggled to access it on Sunday. USAID has more than 10,000 employees.

Trump has also put a hold on most U.S. foreign aid as part of his "America First" policy. This freeze has caused concerns worldwide. Programs such as medical aid for Thai refugees, landmine removal in war zones, and drugs for millions suffering from diseases like HIV are now at risk of being cut.

During the discussion about reducing U.S. spending, Musk claimed that the Trump administration could cut $1 trillion from the U.S. budget next year. He also argued that large sums of money are being stolen by "professional foreign fraud rings" that pretend to be U.S. citizens, though he didn’t provide evidence to support this claim or explain how he reached the $1 trillion figure.

There are also concerns about Musk’s access to the U.S. Treasury system, which handles over $6 trillion in payments to federal agencies and contains sensitive data about millions of Americans. Democrat Peter Welch, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, has raised questions about why Musk was granted access to this system and whether it was an abuse of power.

When asked if Musk was doing a good job, Trump replied that Musk is a "big cost-cutter" who sometimes makes decisions they may not agree with, but he still thinks Musk is doing well in his role.

Musk's team has been given control of several government systems, including the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which handles human resources for the federal government. Reports have emerged that Musk’s team has locked out career civil servants from computer systems that contain personal data about millions of federal workers. Since taking office on January 20, Trump has worked to shake up the government, firing many civil servants and replacing them with loyalists as part of his plan to reduce the size of the bureaucracy.

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