Over the weekend, Musk repeatedly denigrated USAID without offering evidence that those working there were corrupt. On X, he called the long-standing government agency “evil” and a “viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.”
“USAID is a criminal organization,” he added. “Time for it to die.”
Musk also had sharp words for the agency during an X Spaces live stream early Monday, when he was joined by Vivek Ramaswamy — former co-head of DOGE in its prior iteration, when it was an outside group empowered to make recommendations — and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
“USAID is a ball of worms,” Musk said. “There is no apple.”
“It’s gotta go. It’s beyond repair,” he added.
Established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy,
USAID oversees a vast portfolio of programs designed to provide humanitarian relief, combat poverty, support global health and more. In 2023, it managed appropriations worth $40 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. USAID is present in more than 100 countries from Ukraine to Peru. The agency’s staff numbers more than 10,000, the majority of whom are overseas.
By Sunday afternoon, USAID’s X account had been taken down, with a message saying the account “doesn’t exist.” The agency’s Instagram account was also taken offline.
USAID’s website has been down since Saturday. It was not immediately clear whether it was taken down because of the Trump administration’s focus on the agency or was down because of technical problems.
The purge of USAID personnel and freezing of foreign assistance have caused tension between Trump officials and congressional staff members, who have clashed over the value of key projects and the administration’s plans to fold USAID within the State Department, said U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
During those discussions, senior State Department official Peter Marocco was unable to provide answers on what aid was paused, including sensitive programs in Ukraine, which is fending off an invasion from Russia, the officials said. State Department spokespeople have also been unable to provide answers about what cases are exempt from Trump’s freeze.
The news of the top two security officials being put on leave was
earlier reported by CNN. News of Hopson’s resignation was first reported by Reuters.
Late Sunday, Trump also implied that the ousters of USAID officials were justified, without citing any evidence.
“It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out,” he told reporters after returning to Washington from spending the weekend in Palm Beach, Florida.
Top-ranking Democrats on Sunday demanded explanations for the DOGE officials’ actions and the sudden departure of the USAID security leaders.
Ten Democratic senators, including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio
in a letter that any steps to dismantle USAID would need congressional approval and asked for an update on the weekend’s events.
Shaheen, in a separate message to The Washington Post, said she is “seeking immediate answers about any implications for our national security and … bringing a group of bipartisan Senators together on this as soon as the Senate comes back tomorrow.”
“Reports that individuals without appropriate clearance may have accessed classified USAID spaces as well as American citizens’ personal information are incredibly serious and unprecedented,” Shaheen said.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), who sits on the same committee, said there is “no circumstance under which individuals without proper security clearances should be given access to our nation’s most sensitive secrets and systems.”
“This is exactly what China, Russia and Iran want,” Kaine said. “This potentially criminal incident must be investigated thoroughly and immediately. I commend the efforts of USAID staff who have shown time and again that their first and foremost priority is serving their country, not the whims of an unelected and corrupt billionaire.”
Billionaire says in social media talk that Donald Trump agrees the world’s largest single donor should be shut down
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