Musk announces USAID to be shut down in government cost-cutting drive
WASHINGTON – Billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading U.S. President Donald Trump’s drive to shrink the federal government, gave an update on the effort early Monday, saying work is underway to shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla TSLA.O and SpaceX, discussed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a social media talk on Monday on X, which he also owns. Trump has assigned Musk to lead a federal cost-cutting panel.
The conversation, which included former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Mike Lee, began with Musk saying they were working to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“It’s beyond repair,” Musk said, adding that President Trump agrees it should be shut down.
On Sunday, Reuters reported the Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID during the weekend after they tried to stop representatives from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to restricted parts of the building, three sources said.
USAID is the world’s largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. disbursed $72 billion of assistance worldwide on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security, and anti-corruption work. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.
The website of USAID appeared to still be offline on Saturday, and some users could not access it on Sunday. USAID has a staff of more than 10,000 people.
Speaking more broadly about cutting U.S. expenses and fraud, Musk estimated the Trump administration can cut $1 trillion from the U.S. deficit next year.
He asserted, for example, that “professional foreign fraud rings” are stealing vast sums by masquerading as or creating fake digital U.S. citizens. However, Musk did not offer any evidence to support his fraud claim or explain how he reached the amount of $1 trillion.
On his part, Trump has ordered a global freeze on most U.S. foreign aid as part of his “America First” policy. Field hospitals in Thai refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the programs at risk of elimination.
Asked Sunday if Musk was doing a good job, Trump agreed. “He’s a big cost-cutter. Sometimes we won’t agree with it, and we’ll not go where he wants to go. But I think he’s doing a great job. He’s a smart guy. Very smart. And he’s very much into cutting the budget of our federal budget.”
