In response to actions taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to impose control over the international aid agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development reportedly shuttered its headquarters to agency staff on Monday.
The action was taken by “Agency leadership,” according to an email sent to USAID staff.
“At the direction of Agency leadership, the USAID headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, February 3, 2025,” the email read.
According to the message, responses should be sent to an email account that seems to be connected to Gavin Kliger, a DOGE employee whose LinkedIn profile lists him as a special adviser to the director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Except for officials with critical responsibilities who have been approached directly by senior leaders, all agency employees were directed to work remotely. Employees will receive additional information later, according to the email.
The world’s wealthiest man encouraged the attack on USAID, a legally recognized independent institution, which begs the question of whether DOGE would follow a similar pattern to shut down other organizations.
🚨ELON MUSK: “As we dug into USAID it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms. If you have an apple with a worm in it, you can take the worm out. If you have a whole ball of worms, it’s hopeless. USAID is… pic.twitter.com/fd00gMFmqS
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) February 3, 2025
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio suspended most international aid as part of a 90-day review, USAID—which was founded in 1961 as the U.S. government’s agency for carrying out foreign-assistance programs worldwide—was shut down.
Aid organizations expressed outrage that victims will be denied essential help as a result of the step. Rubio said in another directive on Tuesday that “core life saving programs” that deal with food, shelter, medical care, and medication would not be affected by the suspension.
Uncertainty remained regarding the immediate future of other programs, such as those that promote economic development, counterterrorism training, counternarcotics collaboration, and initiatives to bolster the rule of law overseas.
A flurry of appeals has been made after authorities and aid groups were informed that they could request exceptions if they felt the moratorium was hurting American interests.
Some contract employees were unable to access their email accounts on Sunday even prior to Kliger’s statement. The message “Authentication Failed” was displayed in red to anyone attempting to log on.
According to a USAID contractor, half of their team’s employees were unable to access email.
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