Elon Musk targets closure of US humanitarian aid agency

4/2/2025 6:11

Employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were informed on Monday that their headquarters in downtown Washington was shut for the day, hours after billionaire Elon Musk said President Donald Trump agreed that Washington's primary humanitarian agency should be closed.



Hundreds of USAID programs covering billions of dollars worth of lifesaving aid across the globe came to a grinding halt after Trump on Jan. 20 ordered a freeze of most U.S. foreign aid, saying he wanted to ensure it is aligned with his "America First" policy.



Over the past week, mayhem has prevailed at USAID's offices in DC where dozens of staff have been put on leave while people working for Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) attempted to gain access to USAID documents, triggering a row between his aides and career staff.



The billionaire is heading Trump's drive to cut wasteful spending within the federal government but his increasingly harsh accusations of USAID - for which he has not provided evidence - has raised questions on whether the effort to gut the agency and possibly bring it under the State Department was solely driven by cost-cutting purposes.