What to know about USAID, the agency Elon Musk wants dead

Musk called USAID corrupt without providing evidence. (Image: AFP)
Musk called USAID corrupt without providing evidence. (Image: AFP)

Summary

The Trump administration wants to fold the agency’s efforts to provide aid around the world into the State Department.

The USAID building was closed to employees on Monday.

Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Trump, is targeting the U.S. Agency for International Development as part of his directive to slash federal spending.

USAID is responsible for providing financial aid to countries around the world. Its funds help combat human trafficking, battle diseases, feed people in places ravaged by famine or support countries devastated by war, such as Ukraine.

Over the weekend, people working for Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency accessed USAID’s classified systems after a clash with security officials. Its offices were closed Monday to workers.

Read more about USAID:

What is USAID?

The U.S. Agency for International Development was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy as the U.S. government’s agency that carries out foreign-assistance programs across the globe. Its creation was based on the Foreign Assistance Act passed by Congress that year. The agency operated at first under the authority of the Secretary of State but was made an independent agency in 1998 by Congress.

What is USAID’s budget?

The agency had a budget of roughly $44.2 billion in fiscal 2024, or 0.4% of the federal budget, according to USAspending.gov, which tracks government spending data. In 2023, the agency had a $50.3 billion budget.

How many employees does USAID have?

More than 10,000 workers. About two-thirds of them serve overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Why is Elon Musk targeting USAID?

Elon Musk runs the Department of Government Efficiency, which is looking to find ways to reduce federal spending, scale back the federal workforce and shrink federal agencies.

Musk called USAID corrupt without providing evidence. “USAID is a criminal organization," he wrote in one post on X. “Time for it to die."

What are Trump’s plans with USAID?

Trump plans to release an executive order that would fold the USAID into the State Department, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

USAID is more effective as an independent agency to respond to health needs such as the current outbreaks of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, Marburg in Tanzania, and a rare disease called Chapare hemorrhagic fever in Bolivia, said Matthew Kavanagh, director of the Center for Global Health Policy & Politics at Georgetown University.

“Suggesting the State Department, which deals in policy, can morph into an effective operational humanitarian and aid agency is absurd," he said.

Can Trump legally do this?

No, according to Kavanagh. Congress gave USAID independent legal authorities and dissolving it as an independent agency would take another act of Congress, he said. Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the prerogative to create or abolish agencies, he said.

What programs does USAID fund?

Ukraine is among the top recipients of assistance from USAID.

The USAID gave assistance to about 130 countries in fiscal year 2023. The top 10 recipients were Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan and Syria.

In Ukraine, for example, funds have been used to help farmers grow and export grains used around the world. It works to keep heat and electricity continuing for Ukrainians even as Russia attacks the country’s infrastructure.

USAID has also been a big funder of health programs around the world, working to reduce HIV, tuberculosis and other diseases, including the Covid-19 pandemic. It helped the Tanzanian government and Unicef battle a past outbreak of Marburg virus, funding equipment, medicines and staff.

USAID also buys corn, beans, rice and other food from U.S. farmers to help feed people around the world. USAID said it bought 1.1 million metric tons of food from the U.S. farmers and ranchers in fiscal year 2023.

Is USAID functioning?

The fate of its programs remains unclear. The agency’s website, USAID.gov, was taken offline and placed into a subsection of State’s website. Then USAID’s X account was removed, leaving behind a message that reads: “This account doesn’t exist."

USAID’s offices at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., were closed to workers Monday and personnel were told to work remotely unless instructed by a supervisor.

This explanatory article may be updated periodically.

Write to Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com and Betsy McKay at betsy.mckay@wsj.com

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