WASHINGTON (PNN) - February 3, 2025 - Elon Musk, President Donald Trump's hand-picked chief of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, has closed down an entire government agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, after calling it a criminal organization that was beyond repair.
A report in the Daily Mail explained, "The billionaire 'first buddy' led a civilian review of the federal government with Trump's go-ahead and decided this week to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Washington, D.C. offices."
Staff woke up Monday to emails instructing them to stay away from the D.C. headquarters.
Musk said, "It became apparent that it's not an apple with a worm it in. What we have is just a ball of worms. You've got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It's beyond repair. We're shutting it down."
He explained that he spoke with the president and they agreed "we should shut it down”.
There were reportedly more than 10,000 employees on its staff as of 2016.
It managed more than $40 billion in Fiscal Year 2023, giving out cash to some 130 nations.
"USAID is a criminal organization," Musk wrote on social media.
The agency's web presence has also been suspended.
The action followed a decision over the weekend for two top security chiefs at USAID to be put on leave when they refused to turn over classified material to the government teams working with Musk.
The two, John Voorhees and Brian McGill, said they didn't believe the DOGE officials had a high enough security clearance to access the information.
"USAID is a criminal organization," Musk previewed on social media. He continued, "Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people?"
President Trump earlier discussed the issue, with his charge the agency has been "run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out… and then we'll make a decision (on its future)."
There already was chaos in the agency as President Trump had ordered a freeze on most U.S. foreign aid for three months, insisting that the spending needed to be reviewed for inappropriate recipients and projects. He then issued waivers for food and other humanitarian help.
There has been discussion about how President Trump may want to roll the USAID's functions into the Department of State.