Tech mogul Elon Musk and former U.S. President Donald Trump have made the decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), citing the agency as “beyond repair.”
The move follows Musk’s review of the agency under Trump’s government efficiency initiative.
Musk, who heads the initiative, reviewed USAID with Trump’s approval and concluded that the agency, based in Washington, D.C., was no longer salvageable. The decision led to a complete shutdown of USAID’s operations.
Staff members were reportedly stunned when they received emails on Monday morning instructing them to stay away from the agency’s headquarters in D.C.
Some 600 employees found they were locked out of their accounts and systems overnight, while others received notifications that, as directed by leadership, the building would remain closed to agency personnel on February 3.
Musk, speaking in an audio-only appearance on X, expressed his dissatisfaction with the agency, describing it as a “ball of worms” that couldn’t be fixed. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing,” he said. “It’s beyond repair.”
He confirmed that he had discussed the matter with Trump and they both agreed to shut down the agency.
As of 2016, USAID had approximately 10,235 employees. Additionally, the agency’s website was taken offline, with visitors now encountering a “site can’t be reached” error message.
The shutdown followed an earlier incident where two top USAID security chiefs were placed on leave by the Trump administration after they refused to hand over classified materials to Musk’s government inspection teams.
