Elon Musk Announces USAID Shutdown Following President Trump’s Green Light

Elon Musk | Source: commons.wikimedia.org

The change will affect U.S. citizens by altering the landscape of international aid programs and shifting policy control to other government branches.

Elon Musk revealed early Monday that he had received President Donald Trump’s approval to eliminate USAID, an agency that spends tens of billions of dollars each year on various global initiatives. Speaking on the social platform X with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Musk characterized the agency as a “hornet’s nest” and claimed that after multiple discussions with Trump, it was determined that the agency was irreparable. Musk stated, “It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm in it. What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.”

During the conversation, Musk explained that his discussions with Trump involved detailed proposals for shutting down USAID. “I discussed USAID… in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down,” Musk said, emphasizing that the reforms he was advocating for could only move forward with the full support of the president. According to Musk, Trump affirmed his position multiple times, remarking “yes” when asked if he was certain about shutting down the agency. As a result, Musk declared, “So we’re shutting it down.”

Musk did not mince words in his follow-up posts on X, where he lambasted the agency further by stating, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could [have] gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” He also went on to label the agency as a “criminal organization” and declared that it was “time for it to die.” Meanwhile, Sen. Ernst mentioned that any program from USAID which might prove beneficial to the United States should be transferred under the jurisdiction of the State Department.

Additional reports indicate that USAID personnel have been instructed to work from home unless their role requires them to be present at the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. An internal email outlined that “Agency personnel normally assigned to work at USAID headquarters will work remotely … with the exception of personnel with essential on-site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership.” The situation was further complicated by the fact that two top security officials were placed on leave after reportedly refusing to cooperate with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over the weekend.