Technological billionaire Elon Musk said Monday that he and President Donald Trump were in the process of closing the US agency for international development, increasing their war against federal bureaucracy and challenging the constitutional power of the congress to determine how money is spent .
Musk, the head of the Trump government efficiency initiative, announced the closure in the middle of the night in an appearance only in audio at his social media site X.
“We are closing it,” he said. At another time, he said “we are in the” closing USAID “process.
Musk did not say which legal authority believed that the White House has to close a federal agency without the approval of the Congress, or how fast the administration planned to act. He said the idea had “the president’s full support” and that he had spoken with Trump about the matter several times.
“Regarding Usaid’s things, I was [it] With him in detail, and he agreed that we should close it, ”he said. “In fact, I reviewed it several times [and] He said: “Are you sure?” He said. He said Trump replied: “Yes.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Musk’s announcement at dawn on Monday.
Trump said Sunday that Musk “is doing a good job” and criticized Usaid as “directed by a lot of radical lunatics”, although Trump was not so far as to say that he planned to close the agency, with or without Congress. agreement.
Trump administration officials have discussed the placement of USAID under the authority of the State Department, according to more than a dozen current and previous officials and sources familiar with discussions, NBC News reported, a measure that Democratic legislators and Legal experts have argued that they would violate a law adopted by the Congress established by the agency.
Trump has said that he is freezing virtually all foreign assistance from the United States pending a 90 -day review.
The Congress annually appropriates money for usaid Gaste, mainly for foreign aid and beneficial organizations centered internationally. His budget for fiscal year 2023 was approximately $ 40 billion, according to a report last month of the Congress Research Service. That is a small fraction of general federal discretion expenditure of $ 1.7 billion.
President John F. Kennedy created Usaid by executive order in 1961 after Congress approved a reorganization of foreign assistance.
Musk’s announcement followed an unusual incident on Saturday in which USAID security director and his deputy were placed on administrative license after they tried to prevent employees from the Musk government efficiency department from accessing Secure Uside Systems, Five sources told NBC News. Doge employees threatened to call the American bailiffs, two of the sources said. Doge employees were finally able to obtain access to safe systems, said three of the sources, but it was not clear what information could obtain.
It was already clear last week that the Trump administration and Musk staff planned a radical shake of Usaid, one of several agencies where fear and chaos are sweeping the federal workforce. More than 50 officials of his career in USAID were placed on administrative license last Monday.
In the past, USAID has had an association with one of Musk’s companies, Spacex. The agency announced in 2022 that it had been associated with Spacex to provide 5,000 Satellite Internet terminals from Starlink to the Ukraine government after Russia’s invasion.
On Monday, however, Musk called Usaid “Beyond Repair” and “Newless.” He also said that the agency “was not an apple with a worm, but in reality we only have a worm ball.”
In an X publication, Musk added that the weekend had spent feeding Usaid in the wooden splinter. I could go to some great parties. I did that instead. ”
Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a long-time critic of federal spending, joined Musk in the call and said he agreed with his evaluation. However, it is not clear how extended that vision is, even in the congress controlled by the Republicans.
A 1974 federal law known as the Packing Control Law says that the president cannot generally retain funds that Congress has approved. Some Trump assistants argue that the law is unconstitutional, foreshadowing a possible fight in court.
The one -hour event in X, shortly after midnight and Monday, was the first time that Musk had spoken publicly since he and a group of assistants began to review federal agencies last week.
Musk said he plans to expand additional changes, including the “wholesale elimination of regulations.”
“Regulations should basically be disappeared predetermined. Failure was not breach there, the default value disappeared, ”he said, although he was not clear if he was speaking for himself or others in the administration.
Musk also said that time was essential for Trump to act.
“This is our shot. This is the best hand of the letters we are going to have, ”he said. “Now or never.”
