Under orders from the Trump administration, the doors to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters in Washington, D.C., have been locked, blocking key workers from entering the agency. Following recommendations from Elon Musk, Trump has vocalized intent to shutter the agency to halt “wasteful” government spending.
The lockdown and potential defunding of USAID came after Trump signed an executive order on his first day to freeze U.S. foreign aid, effectively stopping billions of dollars in humanitarian resources. Following the freeze order, the State Department issued a mandatory stop-work order with the only exception for emergency food assistance. However, with USAID Personal Service Contractors locked out of their offices and online accounts, the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, which oversees food assistance, cannot do its job.
A senior White House official confirmed to Reuters that Trump is considering merging parts of USAID with the State Department and has tasked Musk with overseeing and assessing the agency’s “efficiency.” Musk has long criticized USAID, referring to it as too “left-wing” and “unaccountable to the White House.”
Top congressional Democrats have voiced outrage at the prospect of shutting down USAID, with Senator Brian Schatz and Senator Chris Van Hollen vowing to block Senate confirmations of Trump’s remaining cabinet appointees in protest. Despite the Republican majority in the Senate, Schatz and Van Hollen pointed toward rules that allow a minority party to delay nominations. “We have control over the calendar for nominees,” Van Hollen said. “We will do everything we can to block State Department nominees from going forward until this illegal action is reversed.”
In a flashier show of disapproval, some democratic lawmakers protested in front of the locked USAID office on Monday. “We don’t have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk,” Representative Jamie Raskin said during the protest. Democrats insist that eliminating USAID would require a vote from Congress, though Trump disagreed.
“I love the concept [of USAID], but they turned out to be radical left lunatics,” Trump said on Monday.
In 2024, USAID provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations. Experts warn that closing USAID and disbursing humanitarian funds could kill people.
