The much-criticized US aid and development agency USAID may soon be shut down, according to Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In an official statement, the White House also points out that the agency is deeply dysfunctional, and that US taxpayers’ money has been wasted on LGBTQ propaganda for children in other countries, funding of terrorists in the Middle East, and financial support for an organization that has been engaged in experimental virus research at the infamous Wuhan laboratory.
Trump’s negative attitude towards the agency has been well known for a long time, and he has declared that it is “time for it to die”.
Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), says the President is of the same opinion and “agrees that we should shut it down”.
– It became apparent that its not an apple with a worm it in. What we have 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.
“Did you know that USAID, using your tax dollars, funded research on bioweapons, including covid-19, that killed millions of people?” he writes in a post on his own platform X.
Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people? https://t.co/YVwyKA7ifs
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025
“Malicious projects”
The White House seems to share the view that it is time for the agency to “die”. A press release states that for decades the agency has “has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous – and, in many cases, malicious – pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight” and that those responsible have never been held accountable for their actions.
It also lists the following examples of “waste and abuse” and emphasizes that this is only a small part of the agency’s destructive activities:
- $1.5 million to “promote diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business community”
- $70,000 for the production of a “DEI musical” in Ireland
- $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam
- $47,000 for a “trans opera” in Colombia
- $32,000 for a “transgender newspaper” in Peru
- $2 million for gender reassignment and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
- $6 million dollars to fund tourism in Egypt
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars to a nonprofit with ties to terrorist-labeled organizations – even after an inspector general launched an investigation
- Millions to EcoHealth Alliance – which was involved in research at the Wuhan lab
- Hundreds of thousands of meals that went to al-Qaeda affiliated fighters in Syria
- Funding to prescribe “personalized” contraceptives in developing countries
- Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan”, which benefits the Taliban.
“The list could literally go on and on – and all this has been going on for decades. Under President Trump, the waste, fraud, and abuse will end immediately”, the White House communique concludes.
Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) reads off a list of what USAID has been funding with U.S. taxes:
– $1.5m to Serbian DEI ️ programs
– $70k for a DEI ️ musical in Ireland
– $47k for Colombian trans ️⚧️ operas
– $32k for Peruvian trans ️⚧️ comics for kids pic.twitter.com/DS1CsT4yYD— Emergent Perspective (@_emergent_) February 3, 2025
The agency has also been accused of funneling money to suspicious lobby groups and foundations, where it is often unclear where the money has actually ended up. It is also alleged to have funded CIA-linked organizations and projects engaged in subversion in other countries to further US geopolitical interests.
