Musk says shutting down USAID in government 'cost-cutting' drive

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to shrink the federal government, gave an update on the effort early Monday, saying they are working to shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID.

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, discussed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a Monday social media talk on X, which he also owns. Trump has assigned Musk to lead a federal cost-cutting panel.

The conversation, which included former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Senator Joni Ernst and Mike Lee, began with Musk saying they were working to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

"It's beyond repair," Musk said, adding that President Trump agrees it should be shut down.

On Sunday Reuters reported the Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID during the weekend after they tried to stop representatives from billionaire Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to restricted parts of the building, three sources said.

Reuters