Elon Musk and Donald Trump Propose Shutting Down USAID.

Elon Musk, a tech entrepreneur and the leader of President Donald Trump’s government efficiency program, revealed on his social media platform X that he and Trump are working to close the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“We’re shutting it down,” he said.

At another point, he said “We’re in the process” of “shutting down USAID.” 

He further said the idea had “the full support of the president” and that he had spoken with Trump on the matter several times. 

“With regard to the USAID stuff, I went over [it] with him in detail, and he agreed that we should shut it down,” he said. “I actually checked with him a few times [and] said, ‘Are you sure?’” he said. He said that Trump responded, “Yes.” 

More than a dozen current and former officials and sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News that Trump administration officials have discussed placing USAID under the authority of the State Department, a move that Democratic lawmakers and legal experts have argued would violate a law adopted by Congress establishing the agency. Trump said on Sunday that Musk “is doing a good job” and criticised USAID as “run by a bunch of radical lunatics.” Trump did not, however, go so far as to say he planned to shut down the agency, with or without congressional agreement.

According to NBC News, Trump administration officials have discussed transferring USAID to the State Department. However, Democratic lawmakers and legal experts have argued that this would violate the agency’s founding law. Trump has also announced a 90-day freeze on foreign aid.

Congress annually appropriates funds for USAID to spend, largely on overseas aid and international charity. According to a report released last month by the Congressional Research Service, its budget for the fiscal year 2023 was approximately $40 billion.

Following Congress’s reorganisation of foreign assistance, President John F. Kennedy established USAID by executive order in 1961.