Foreign aid agency USAID in crisis as Trump, Musk threaten shutdown

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is facing its greatest threat since its inception over 60 years ago, as President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk spent the weekend impugning the agency that has contributed to Washington being the most critical source of foreign assistance around the world.

USAID staffers at the agency’s Washington headquarters were instructed to stay out early Monday, according to a notice distributed to them. USAID staffers said they tracked 600 employees who reported being locked out of the agency’s computer systems overnight.

Those still in the system received emails in the agency system saying that “at the direction of Agency leadership” the headquarters building “will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, Feb. 3.”

Musk, in early Monday live session on X, the social media platform he owns, said Trump has “agreed” USAID should be shut down.

“You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair,” said Musk.

Musk’s comments come after the administration placed two top security chiefs at USAID on leave last week. According to reports from multiple U.S. media outlets, they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Musk’s government-inspection teams.

Musk comments ‘wildly unhinged’: Democratic lawmaker

Musk is overseeing a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in co-operation with the Trump administration, with the stated goal of finding ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations. Critics say that mechanisms and agencies already exist within the government to highlight inefficiencies and waste, including the Government Accountability Office. Inspectors general also help identify wasted taxpayer dollars, yet the Trump administration has already fired several of them.

Musk on Sunday responded to a user’s X post about the news by saying: “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” 

Democratic congressman Jason Crow of Colorado responded to the post, characterizing it as a “wildly unhinged thing to say,” pointing out USAID’s role in preventing famine and promoting democracy.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and other Democrats in Congress have argued that Trump has no legal authority to dissolve the agency, which was created by an act of Congress during John F. Kennedy’s presidency.

In fiscal year 2023, the most recent data available, $68 billion US had been obligated in U.S. foreign aid to programs ranging from disaster relief to health and pro-democracy initiatives in 204 countries and regions. USAID was responsible for about 62 per cent of the total, with the State Department next at 28 per cent.

“It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out,” Trump said to reporters about USAID on Sunday night. At the same scrum, Trump seemed to suggest the White House won’t always follow Musk and DOGE’s recommendations.

Uncertainty, confusion around the globe

The Trump administration and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have imposed an unprecedented freeze on foreign assistance. Rubio has said there is a 90-day review period analyzing programs and that those offering “life-saving” assistance including medicine, medical services, food and shelter would be exempted from the aid freeze, though what qualifies is not immediately clear.

“We don’t want to see people die and the like,” Rubio said last week in an interview.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), created by George W. Bush’s administration, is among the programs getting an exemption. The program has been credited with saving more than 25 million lives, the vast majority in Africa, by delivering life-saving HIV care and treatment services, including testing and counselling, prevention and treatment of infections including tuberculosis.

But the UN AIDS program said in a statement that in the confusion the past week, many African organizations receiving PEPFAR funding closed due to the aid pause and the “lack of clarity and great uncertainty about the future.”

“The world is baffled,” Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa’s health minister, said last week.

Africa could be hit particularly hard by the administration’s moves, which also include an intent to remove the U.S. from the World Health Organization by January 2026. Congo has seen outbreaks of mpox as fighting in the east has led to upheaval, while civil-war torn Sudan is grappling with cholera, malaria and measles. 

DOGE accesses Treasury data

According to reports from multiple U.S. media outlets, the two departing USAID security officials — John Voorhees and deputy Brian McGill — believed themselves legally obligated to deny access to Musk’s DOGE crew as they didn’t have high enough security clearance to access that information. The current and former U.S. officials had knowledge of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to share the information.

Kate Miller, who serves on an advisory board for DOGE, said in a separate post that no classified material was accessed “without proper security clearances.”

The development comes concurrently with reports that DOGE gained access to sensitive Treasury data including Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

As a result, DOGE could have wide leeway to access important taxpayer data, among other things.

Democratic congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez characterized the Musk team activities as a “five-alarm fire.”

“The people elected Donald Trump to be President — not Elon Musk,” she said on social media. “Having an unelected billionaire, with his own foreign debts and motives, raiding U.S. classified information is a grave threat to national security.

Musk owns several companies which are necessarily subject to U.S. government regulation, including Tesla, Starlink, SpaceX and Neuralink.