On Monday, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) abruptly ordered its D.C. office to close, directing employees to work from home. This announcement coincided with remarks from Elon Musk, who claimed he discussed shutting down the agency with President Trump. Musk criticized USAID as a 'criminal organization' and both he and Trump have previously expressed a desire to reform or eliminate foreign aid, with a 90-day freeze now in effect. Employees expressed a range of negative emotions following this unexpected change.
"With regards to the USAID stuff, I went over it in detail, and he agreed that we should shut it down," Musk said of a conversation he had with President Donald Trump.
"USAID is a criminal organization," Musk declared on X, implying deep criticism of the agency's operations just before the shutdown.
A 15-year veteran employee at USAID expressed feelings of "nervous, annoyed, sad, anxious," echoing the concerns of the workforce after the abrupt announcement.
Trump described USAID as run by "radical lunatics," further indicating the administration's intentions to curtail foreign aid allocations.
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