Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he believes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is a “criminal organization” that should “die.”
“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk posted to the social platform X, which he owns.
Musk was responding to the news that senior officials at USAID physically attempted to block people from Musk’s new advisory board, the “Department of Government Efficiency,” from having access to secure systems.
The Trump administration is making USAID a target in its wide-ranging changes to the federal government. In a three-page letter last week, it was revealed President Trump is considering merging the organization into a branch under the State Department. Several federal websites have gone dark in recent days, including USAID’s.
The organization provides humanitarian assistance to other countries impacted by conflicts and assists developing countries in various other ways.
The agency has a budget of more than $50 billion and was formed in 1961.
Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order that put a temporary freeze on federal funding. A judge temporarily blocked Trump’s plan to freeze the aid. NBC.
