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Elon Musk, who is heading Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government, has said they are working to shut down the foreign aid agency USAid, in a social media discussion on X early on Monday.
The conversation, which included former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican senator 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 Trump agreed 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 billionaire Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency”, or 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 US disbursed $72bn 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.
Trump has ordered a global freeze on most US foreign aid as part of his “America First” policy which is already sending shock waves around the world. 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.
Speaking more broadly about cutting US expenses and fraud, Musk estimated the Trump administration can cut $1tn from the US deficit next year. Musk did not offer any evidence to support his fraud claim or explain how he reached the amount of $1tn.
He asserted, for example, that “professional foreign fraud rings” are stealing money vast sums by masquerading as or creating fake digital US citizens.
The online chat comes amid concerns about Musk’s access to the Treasury system, first reported by the New York Times, that sends out more than $6tn a year in payments on behalf of federal agencies and contains the personal information of millions of Americans who receive social security payments, tax refunds and other moneys from the government.
Democrat Peter Welch, a member of the Senate finance committee, called for explanations as to why Musk had been handed access to the payment system and what Welch said included taxpayers’ sensitive data.
“It’s a gross abuse of power by an unelected bureaucrat and it shows money can buy power in the Trump White House,” Welch said in an emailed statement.
Musk has Trump’s support. Asked if Musk was doing a good job on Sunday, 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.“
