Elon Musk Calls for USAID to Be Shut Down

Elon Musk has declared that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) should be dismantled following reports that two senior security officials at the agency were suspended for denying his representatives access to classified information.

Musk, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), criticized USAID on Monday, labeling it a “criminal organization” after security personnel reportedly blocked his cost-cutting team from restricted areas at the agency’s Washington, DC, headquarters.

“Time for it to die,” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X.

Reports indicate that USAID’s director of security, John Voorhees, and his deputy, Brian McGill, were placed on leave after preventing DOGE personnel from entering secure areas due to their lack of security clearance. Despite the initial refusal, DOGE representatives eventually accessed the classified areas, according to multiple media reports first published by CNN.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung dismissed claims that DOGE staff had tried to enter secure areas, calling a PBS report on the incident “fake news” and “completely false.”

However, Katie Miller, a member of DOGE, appeared to confirm that the team attempted to gain entry, clarifying on X that “no classified material was accessed without proper security clearances.”

Growing Concerns Over USAID’s Future

The incident has intensified fears that Trump, who has already frozen most foreign aid, is planning to drastically scale back or even dismantle USAID entirely.

Over the weekend, the USAID website went offline, and a simplified version of its page briefly appeared under the State Department’s website—fueling speculation that the agency may be absorbed into the department overseeing foreign policy.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons criticized the developments, writing on X:

“President Trump spent two weeks harassing and laying off USAID employees, and now his team is trying to gut the agency altogether. These are patriotic Americans who promote our leadership around the world. They make us safer. Trump makes us less safe.”

Jeremy Konyndyk, who led USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance from 2013 to 2017, warned that eliminating USAID without congressional approval would violate the Constitution’s separation of powers.

“If this move succeeds—if Trump (or Elon) can simply override Congressional statutes and funding mandates while Congress does nothing—it’s a very troubling sign … and it won’t stop at USAID,” Konyndyk wrote on X.

Musk’s Expanding Influence in Government

Democratic lawmakers have also raised concerns over Musk’s growing role in government despite not holding elected office.

His clash with USAID follows reports from The New York Times and The Associated Press that DOGE gained access to the federal payment system, which contains sensitive financial information on millions of Americans.

New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voiced alarm, writing on X:

“This is a five-alarm fire. The people elected Donald Trump to be President—not Elon Musk. Allowing an unelected billionaire with his own foreign ties to access US classified information is a national security crisis. This should not be a partisan issue.”

On Sunday, Trump told reporters that his administration would remove “radical lunatics” from USAID before making a final decision on the agency’s future.

He later singled out aid to South Africa, pledging to cut off “all future funding” in response to land reform policies and what he described as the mistreatment of “certain classes of people.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently signed a controversial law allowing land confiscations without compensation in specific cases. In 2023, the US allocated nearly $440 million in aid to South Africa, according to government records.

“The United States won’t stand for it—we will act,” Trump posted on Truth Social, stating that funding would remain frozen until a “full investigation” was conducted.

As the world’s leading provider of foreign aid, the US distributed $72 billion across nearly 180 countries in 2023, with more than half of that managed through USAID. Although foreign aid represents less than 1% of US government spending, any significant cuts to USAID would mark a major shift in American foreign policy.

Source: Al Jazeera