Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and a gaggle of congressional Democrats blasted Elon Musk’s transfer to shutter USAID.Invoice Clark/CQ Roll Name/AP
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Amassed out of doors the headquarters of the United States Company for Global Construction in downtown Washington, DC, on Monday, a fiery crew of congressional Democrats debuted what felt like a brand new—and potent—message: Elon Musk is appearing as an unqualified shadow president, and he’s breaking the legislation alongside the best way.
The unelected South African tech billionaire introduced Monday that he and Trump have been shutting down USAID, which distributes billions of bucks once a year in global humanitarian assist to roughly 130 international locations—the highest recipient in fiscal 12 months 2023 was once Ukraine—and employs greater than 10,0o0 folks, in step with the Congressional Analysis Provider (CRS). Established through an govt order signed through President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the company “provides assistance to strategically important countries and countries in conflict; leads U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, disease, and humanitarian need; and assists U.S. commercial interests by supporting developing countries’ economic growth and building countries’ capacity to participate in world trade,” the CRS states. To Musk, even though, it’s a “criminal organization” and “radical-left political psy op.“
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk posted on X early Monday. “Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead.”
Loads of USAID staffers have been reportedly laid off ultimate week following Trump’s govt order, issued on Inauguration Day, ordering a 90-day freeze on overseas assist. Over the weekend, two best USAID safety leaders have been reportedly placed on administrative go away after seeking to prevent DOGE staffers from having access to the company’s protected programs. Ten Democratic senators from the Senate International Family members Committee wrote in a letter Sunday to newly showed Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “security guards present at the facility were threatened when they raised questions” about DOGE staffers seeking to achieve access.
“Elon Musk may get to be dictator of Tesla, and he may try to play dictator here in Washington, D.C., but he doesn’t get to shut down [USAID],” Van Hollen mentioned, including that the try to shutter the company was once “plain illegal” and that doing so would take an act of Congress.
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 3, 2025
“We don’t have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk,” shouted Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), to cheers, “and that’s going to become real clear.”
The lawmakers additionally made certain to show the litany of unlawful actions Trump and Musk have undertaken in best—exams notes—two weeks in place of work. (See additionally: Trump’s try to finish birthright citizenship, which a federal pass judgement on briefly blocked, as my colleague Isabela Dias reported, in addition to his effort to freeze billions of bucks in federal investment, which two different federal judges additionally briefly blocked. And if Musk makes use of the get entry to his workforce at DOGE was once reportedly just lately granted to the Treasury’s bills gadget to keep an eye on executive spending, that may even be unlawful, as my colleague Pema Levy lined Sunday.)
The Monday press convention was once now not the one resistance Democratic lawmakers fastened to Musk’s newest strikes. In addition they attempted to go into the USAID headquarters on Monday, best to have federal cops block their access.
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 3, 2025
