Elon Musk announced on Monday on the social network X that with Donald Trump's consent, he is closing USAID. According to The Washington Post, citing current and former officials, on Saturday the administration suspended two senior security service employees of USAID after they refused to grant employees of the new agency led by Elon Musk access to the agency's restricted areas. Officials from the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) were not allowed into the area with classified information, where officials and government contractors take extraordinary precautions to view highly classified information.
A group of about eight DOGE employees entered the USAID building on Saturday and demanded access to every door and floor, despite only a few of them having clearance. One of the senators told WP that on Saturday, senior officials from the USAID office and most of the staff of the USAID bureau for legislative and public affairs were put on leave. Some of them were not notified, simply having their access to the agency's terminals suspended.
By noon on Sunday, the USAID account on the network X was deleted, and a message stated that the account "does not exist." The agency's account on Instagram* was also disabled. The USAID website has been down since Saturday.
On the air of X over the weekend, Musk called this long-standing government agency "evil" and "a den of radical left-wing Marxists who hate America."
Established in 1961 by President John Kennedy, USAID oversees a vast portfolio of programs aimed at providing humanitarian aid, combating poverty, supporting global health, and more. According to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, $40 billion was allocated for these purposes in 2023. USAID is present in more than 100 countries, with the agency's staff numbering over 10,000 people, most of whom work abroad.
The purge of USAID personnel and the freezing of foreign aid have caused tension between Trump officials and members of Congress. On Sunday, senior Democrats demanded explanations for the actions of DOGE officials and the sudden departure of USAID security service leaders. Ten Democratic senators warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a letter that any steps to eliminate USAID must be approved by Congress and requested updated information on the weekend's events.
Senator Tim Kaine stated that "there are no circumstances under which individuals without appropriate clearances should have access to the most secret secrets and systems of our country." He called the incident a "potentially criminal incident" that should be thoroughly investigated. "I highly appreciate the efforts of USAID employees, who repeatedly prove that their first and foremost priority is serving their country, not the whims of an unelected and corrupt billionaire," Kaine said.
Trump appointed Musk as the head of DOGE, a new government agency that initially promised to reduce bureaucratic expenses. Since then, Musk has sought to establish total control over the internal workings of the U.S. government, appointing his long-time deputies in several agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, which essentially handles federal personnel, and the General Services Administration, which manages real estate, notes WP.
*Owned by Meta, recognized as "extremist" in Russia.
Photo: AP