‘Let that sink in’. For those familiar with internet backstreets, this phrase is frequently used by Billionaire Elon Musk whenever he’s accomplished big feats.
Case in point when he finalised the X (formerly Twitter) buyout from Jack Dorsey, and when Trump was declared winner of the 2024 Presidential Elections.
His first months at Twitter resulted in major shakeups, from mass retrenchments to introducing new features to the platform including the new logo and name; X.
Musk was a strong supporter and campaign financier of Donald Trump. It was evident that he had executive access to the president, allowing him to consult on various matters, including those of greater significance.
Trump appointed Elon Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was tasked with conducting internal audits on all U.S. agencies and activities that utilized American taxpayers’ money.
Since taking the reins at DOGE, Musk’s agency has locked horns with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people?” Musk once stated in the past.
The USAID has been a lifeline for millions of people in developing nations. However, Musk is convinced that the agency has been a corrupt franchise that’s been responsible for the looting and mass wastage of American dollars.
He once termed the agency a ‘radical left political psyop’ believing that USAID has been paying top dollar to mainstream media to spread political propaganda and defame President Trump.
When Trump took office on January 20th, 2025, hours after the inauguration, he declared an effective 90-day ban on the US government’s humanitarian and development agency, a role that largely involved USAID since its establishment by President JF Kennedy in 1961.
The question should be, why is USAID involved in this fierce political carnage? President Trump has repeatedly criticized USAID, calling the organization a ‘bunch of radical lunatics’.
Hours after coming into the presidency, he declared that USAID’s policy framework and activities do not align with American interests.
“The foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases, undermine them. They serve to destabilise world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries,” read Trump’s order in part.
In a live session on X Spaces, Musk detailed that he’d spoken to President Trump and they had come to a resolution to shut down the agency.
“It became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, what we have actually, is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair. We’re shutting it down,” he said.
USAID has been overseeing humanitarian, development and security programs in about 120 countries around the world. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), it employs over 10,000 people and funded more than $40 billion in 2023.
On Monday 3rd February, USAID’s headquarters in Washington DC was shut down. Thousands of USAID employees were immediately placed on administrative leave, some contracts were terminated and others were sent on unpaid leave.
“All USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs…Thank you for your service.” read an official notice dated 7th February.
The Democratic party in the US have condemned Trump and Elon for the move against USAID, terming it a threat to national security. It remains to be seen what special operations of USAID will remain in place.
African countries, who represent the larger chunk of developing countries globally, are expected to be hard hit by the dismantling of USAID.
