American billionaire and owner of X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk, has described US Agency for International Development (USAID) as a criminal organisation, saying it is time for the agency to die as President Donald Trump has agreed that there is the need to “shut down” the agency.
This followed days of speculation over the future of the organisation after its funding was frozen and dozens of its employees were put on leave.
It was gathered that USAID senior officials were put on leave after physically trying to stop the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the agency’s systems.
Two USAID officials, John Voorhees and his deputy, have been put on leave after refusing to allow DOGE members access to USAID systems.
An X user @AutismCapital posted the information on his account on Sunday, saying, “The DOGE members threatened to physically call the police after being refused entry. They were trying to access the security and personnel files.”
The X user added, “Federal officials are concerned that Trump is trying to fold USAID into the US State Department in an effort to cut government corruption and bloat.
“USAID employs approximately 10,000 people, excluding contractors, with 2/3 of them overseas.
“60 USAID members were already put on leave last week after trying to circumvent President Trump’s executive order on stopping foreign aid.”
Reacting to @AutismCapital’s post on X, Musk said, “USAID is a criminal organisation. Time for it to die.”
Also, CNN quoted Musk as saying on Monday morning, “With regards to the USAID stuff, I went over it with (the president) in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down.”
Musk also reportedly said he checked with Trump “a few times” and Trump confirmed he wants to shut down the agency.
USAID is said to dispense billions of dollars in humanitarian aid and development funding annually.
On Sunday evening, Trump while commenting on USAID, reportedly told reporters, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision” on its future.
This comes amid Trump administration’s freeze on almost all new funding for foreign aid programmes, with exceptions for allies including Israel and Egypt.
Al Jazeera reported that in an accompanying memo, newly confirmed Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, directed senior officials to “ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance”.
Meanwhile, humanitarian organisations have raised alarm at the directive, expressing fears that it could contribute to global instability and loss of life.
Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America, was quoted as saying in a statement, “By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States’ long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics.”
The temporary freeze is slated to last for a period of at least three months.