The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has set its sights on international humanitarian aid provider the US Agency for International Development, as DOGE head Elon Musk said it should “die.”
Musk posted his thoughts on the agency on his social media site on Sunday, going so far as to call it a “criminal organization.” The governmental agency has 10,000 employees in 100 countries who are tasked with providing foreign aid and development assistance to other countries. "USAID's work includes helping countries recover from disasters, fight poverty, and promote democracy," per their mission.
“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk wrote in a repost on X, which claimed senior officials with USAID were put on leave after “physically trying to stop DOGE from accessing agency systems.”
Experts, however, say shutting down USAID without Congressional approval likely would go far beyond the executive branch’s actual legal authority.
The initial report of the confrontation between DOGE and USAID came from NBC News, which also noted that employees from Musk’s department threatened to call the US Marshals when USAID Director of Security John Voorhees and his deputy, Brian McGill, refused them access.
“No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances,” Katie Miller, who works for DOGE, said Sunday on X.
President Trump is looking to make sweeping changes in the federal government and has tasked his friend Musk, who has not been elected for any position, with finding ways to cut spending.
In a three-page letter last week, it was shared that Trump was considering merging USAID into a branch under the State Department.
USAID’s federal website has subsequently gone dark in recent days, joining what appears to be a growing list, according to The Hill.
USAID has been known for its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to countries impacted by major global conflicts. The organization, formed in 1961, also develops countries by other means with a budget of more than $50 billion.
As for the president’s thoughts, Trump shared criticism for the organization on Sunday, while saying that Musk was “doing a good job.”
“It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, USAID run by radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision,” he said.