Unelected Billionaire Elon Musk Is Shutting Down the Government Agency USAID

In an unprecedented flexing of the power of the executive branch, unelected billionaire Elon Musk is shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development.

On Monday morning, employees for USAID got an email telling them to stay out of their headquarters. The email was signed by Gavin Kliger, one of the young engineers working with Musk who helped him gain control of the Office of Personnel Management last week.

In a late-night X Space over the weekend, Musk said that he and his DOGE cronies had gotten into USAID and found it wanting. “As we dug into USAID it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms,” Musk said. “If you have an apple with a worm in it, you can take the worm out. If you have a whole ball of worms, it’s hopeless. USAID is a ball of worms. There is no apple. And when there is no apple you just need to get rid of the whole thing. That’s why it’s got to go. It’s beyond repair.”

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USAID is a criminal organization.

Time for it to die. https://t.co/sWYy6fyt1k

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025

In America, Congress is supposed to control the purse strings, set the budget, and fund or defund government agencies. It’s their job to oversee departments like USAID and shut them down. Ending a six-decade-old government agency that spends billions of dollars around the world is under their jurisdiction. This move by Musk on behalf of the executive branch is likely illegal and unconstitutional.

It also seems like that doesn’t matter and no one will be stopping it. “Hearing that Trump is about to double down on the constitutional crisis,” Chris Murphy, a Democratic Senator from Connecticut, said in a post on the Musk-owned website X. “A President cannot eliminate an appropriated federal agency by executive order. That’s what a despot – who wants to steal the taxpayers money to enrich his billionaire cabal – does. Watch USAID tonight.”

Hearing that Trump is about to double down on the constitutional crisis. A President cannot eliminate an appropriated federal agency by executive order. That’s what a despot – who wants to steal the taxpayers money to enrich his billionaire cabal – does.

Watch USAID tonight.

— Chris Murphy