Tesla CEO and key Trump administration adviser Elon Musk has termed the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as necessary, calling the agency a "criminal organization" that is "beyond repair." Speaking in a live session on X Spaces, Musk said he had discussed USAID in detail with the president, who agreed that it should be dismantled.

Attempts to access the website on Saturday were met with an error message stating that the “server IP address could not be found.” On X, formerly called twitter, it says the account doesn’t exist. The account of Samantha Power, former USAID Administrator is also showing it doesn’t exist.

"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. 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,” Trump administration’s billionaire adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a live session on X Spaces, previously known as Twitter Spaces. “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." 

He said he spoke in detail about USAID with the president who agreed that it “should shut it down.”

USAID’s workforce is more than 10,000, with approximately two-thirds serving overseas. The reported workforce level does not include institutional support contractors. The agency has a presence in more than 60 countries.  The agency’s Policy Framework, released in March 2023, had set three priorities for USAID starting with “confronting the greatest challenges of our time like authoritarianism, and global health security.”  

 “USAID is a criminal organization,” Musk tweeted. “Time for it to die”

Earlier two top security officials at the US Agency for International Development were put on leave for standing up to officials from the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. The officials refused to allow DOGE officials, which is led by Elon Musk, to access their systems at the agency.

Doctors Without Borders  (MSF) has warned that the freezing of US foreign aid and the abrupt dismantling of key humanitarian infrastructure, including USAID, will trigger a catastrophic crisis.  “The sudden pause in humanitarian and health assistance and the rapid dismantling of critical components of the humanitarian aid system supported by the US government will cause an unmitigated humanitarian disaster affecting millions of the world’s most vulnerable people,” the MSF said in a statement.

The USAID, established in 1961, has a presence in over 100 countries, with its works across various sectors, including health, education, agriculture, and governance.

In African countries it partners with the government and NGOs on issues relating to security, global health, climate change, freedom and democracy. According to USAID Africa website, the agency works to strengthen health systems to support countries to help their children survive, overcome the threat of malaria, give mothers support to give birth safely, and turn the tide against the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the continent.

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