Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Musk says shutting down USAID in government efficiency drive


Musk says shutting down USAID in government efficiency drive

US billionaire Elon Musk looks on ahead of the inauguration ceremony where Donald Trump will sworn in as the 47th US President, Jan. 20 (AFP)
Short Url

https://arab.news/wqqw5

Updated 03 February 2025
Reuters
Follow

Musk says shutting down USAID in government efficiency drive

  • Foreign aid agency USAID disbursed $72 billion in fiscal year 2023
  • Aid covers women’s health, clean water, HIV/AIDS, energy, anti-corruption
Updated 03 February 2025
Reuters

WASHINGTON: Billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading US President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government, gave an update on the effort early Monday, saying they are working to shut down the US foreign aid agency USAID.

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, discussed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a Monday social media talk on X, which he also owns. Trump has assigned Musk to lead a federal cost-cutting panel.

The conversation, which included former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Senator Joni Ernst, began with Musk saying they were working to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“It’s beyond repair,” Musk said, adding that President Trump agrees it should be shut down.

On Sunday Reuters reported the Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID during the weekend after they tried to stop representatives from billionaire Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to restricted parts of the building, three sources said.

USAID is the world’s largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the US disbursed $72 billion of assistance worldwide on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. It provided 42 percent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

The online chat comes amid concerns about Musk’s access to the Treasury system, first reported by the New York Times, that sends out more than $6 trillion per year in payments on behalf of federal agencies and contains the personal information of millions of Americans who receive Social Security payments, tax refunds and other monies from the government.

Democrat Peter Welch, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, called for explanations as to why Musk had been handed access to the payment system and what Welch said included taxpayers’ sensitive data.

“It’s a gross abuse of power by an unelected bureaucrat and it shows money can buy power in the Trump White House,” Welch said in an emailed statement.

Musk has Trump’s support. Asked if Musk was doing a good job Sunday, Trump agreed. “He’s a big cost-cutter. Sometimes we won’t agree with it and we’ll not go where he wants to go. But I think he’s doing a great job. He’s a smart guy. Very smart. And he’s very much into cutting the budget of our federal budget.”

Musk’s team have been given access to or take control of numerous government systems.

Reuters reported on Friday, that aides to Musk charged with running the US government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.

Musk has moved swiftly to install allies at the agency known as the Office of Personnel Management. A team including current and former employees of Musk assumed command of OPM on Jan. 20, the day Trump took office, the sources added.

Since taking office 11 days ago, Trump has embarked on a massive government makeover, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants in his first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and installing more loyalists.

Topics: Elon Musk Trump Returns USAID

Related

World
German government says criticism of Musk does not mean exit from X
World
Over 1,000 USAID officials call for Gaza cease-fire in letter

Volcanic eruptions may have brought Black Death to Europe, say new study

Updated 6 sec ago
AFP
Follow

Volcanic eruptions may have brought Black Death to Europe, say new study

  • Study says volcanic eruptions in 1345 caused temperatures to drop, leading to crop failure and causing famine
  • This led Italy to have ships bring grain from central Asia, where the bubonic plague is thought to have first emerged
  • The plague killed tens of millions of people and wiped out up to 60 percent of the population in parts of Europe 
Updated 6 sec ago
AFP

PARIS: Previously unknown volcanic eruptions may have kicked off an unlikely series of events that brought the Black Death — the most devastating pandemic in human history — to the shores of medieval Europe, new research has revealed.
The outbreak of bubonic plague known as the Black Death killed tens of millions and wiped out up to 60 percent of the population in parts of Europe during the mid-14th century.
How it came to Europe — and why it spread so quickly on such a massive scale — have long been debated by historians and scientists.
Now two researchers studying tree rings have suggested that a volcanic eruption may have been the first domino to fall.
By analizing the tree rings from the Pyrenees mountain range in Spain, the pair established that southern Europe had unusually cold and wet summers from 1345 to 1347.
Comparing climate data with written accounts from the time, the researchers demonstrated that temperatures likely dropped because there was less sunlight following one or more volcanic eruptions in 1345.
The change in climate ruined harvests, leading to failed crops and the beginnings of famine.
Fortunately — or so it seemed — “powerful Italian city states had established long-distance trade routes across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, allowing them to activate a highly efficient system to prevent starvation,” said Martin Bauch, a historian at Germany’s Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe.
“But ultimately, these would inadvertently lead to a far bigger catastrophe,” he said in a statement.
Deadly stowaways

The city states of Venice, Genoa and Pisa had ships bring grain from the Mongols of the Golden Horde in central Asia, which is where the plague is thought to have first emerged.
Previous research has suggested that these grain ships brought along unwelcome passengers: rats carrying fleas infected with Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague.
Between 25 and 50 million people are estimated to have died over the next six years.
While the story encompasses natural, demographic, economic and political events in the area, it was ultimately the previously unidentified volcanic eruption that paved the way for one of history’s greatest disasters, the researchers argued.
“Although the coincidence of factors that contributed to the Black Death seems rare, the probability of zoonotic diseases emerging under climate change and translating into pandemics is likely to increase in a globalized world,” study co-author Ulf Buentgen of Cambridge University in the UK said in a statement.
“This is especially relevant given our recent experiences with Covid-19.”
The study was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on Thursday.

Topics: Black Death bubonic plague medieval Europe

Related

Science & Technology
London skeletons reveal secrets of the Black Death victims
World
US officials confirm rare human case of bubonic plague

Latest updates

Volcanic eruptions may have brought Black Death to Europe, say new study
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado march in cities worldwide
Messi dazzles as Miami beat Vancouver to win MLS title
Salah opens door to Liverpool exit with ‘thrown under the bus’ rant
Torres hat trick in Barcelona rout of Betis in La Liga

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.