Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Musks

Who is Samantha Power? Meet the Biden-era USAID leader facing backlash amid Musk’s DOGE crackdown

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has recently become the target of Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts to slash government waste and spending, bringing increased scrutiny to the record of Samantha Power, the agency’s administrator during almost the entire Biden administration.

Power, who previously served as the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2013 to 2017 in the Obama administration after serving on his National Security Council, took the reins of USAID in the early days of the Biden administration and was tasked with overseeing the tens of billions of dollars budgeted for foreign aid.

“One of the most pressing challenges facing our nation is restoring and strengthening America’s global leadership as a champion of democracy, human rights, and the dignity of all people,” then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said in a statement at the time of Power’s appointment. “Few Americans are better equipped to help lead that work than Ambassador Samantha Power.”

Power was directly involved in the Obama administration’s surveillance of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and sought to obtain Michael Flynn’s redacted identity using an “unmasking” request on at least seven occasions, Fox News Digital previously reported, despite testifying under oath before the House Intelligence Committee that she had “no recollection” of ever making such a request even once.

USAID CLOSES HQ TO STAFFERS MONDAY AS MUSK SAYS TRUMP SUPPORTS SHUTTING AGENCY DOWN

Samantha Power led USAID from 2021-2025. (Getty Images)

Fox News reported in 2017 that Power was “unmasking” at such a rapid pace in the final months of the Obama administration that she averaged more than one request for every working day in 2016, and she even sought information in the days leading up to President Trump’s inauguration, according to multiple sources close to the matter.

Power’s tenure at USAID was also not without controversy, even from her own party, including an incident in which she faced a public revolt from current and former staff in 2024 over her support of Israel.

Critics also took issue with her repeatedly meeting with influential liberal foundations while serving in her role at USAID, which Fox News Digital reported in 2023, included George Soros’ Open Society Foundations at least two times, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at least five times, and meetings with several other powerful groups like Ford and Rockefeller foundations.

Power’s supporters say she has played a critical role in providing U.S. assistance to war-torn areas like Ukraine and Gaza along with aiding the relief of humanitarian crises that have developed in places like Haiti, Armenia and Sudan.

“The best testament to USAID’s contribution is the surge in PRC-backed and Russian-backed propaganda maligning USAID and our work around the world,” Power said in an exit interview with Politico last month. “And it’s really picked up a lot over the last year and a half. We counted 81 malicious and false propaganda campaigns, really dedicated campaigns, aimed at denigrating USAID and our reputation. So we’re doing something that is getting on their nerves.”

USAID HAS ‘DEMONSTRATED PATTERN OF OBSTRUCTIONISM,’ CLAIMS TOP DOGE REPUBLICAN IN LETTER TO RUBIO

Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, delivers a speech during a visit to El Salvador on June 14, 2021. (REUTERS/Jose Cabezas)

Power, who is married to former Obama administration official and professor Cass Sunstein, added, “We are an agency that has thousands of people around the world representing the United States, both because it’s in the interests of the American people to have health systems that are more secure and can spot infectious diseases and tackle them, to change regulations so it’s easier for American businesses to invest, but also to show up and to show the importance of investing in the partnership — and not investing in a manner that just leaves countries saddled with debt.”

USAID has been increasingly questioned by Republicans over its alleged funding of research relating to the coronavirus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, as well as millions in aid that supports LGBT rights abroad and dozens of millions of dollars for migrant crises in other countries, like the nearly $45 million slated to provide emergency food assistance and economic support for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.

MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT

Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall on Oct. 26, 2024, in Lancaster, Pa. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Democrats counter that the agency plays a vital role in U.S. national security interests and say it should remain independent. They point to the work USAID did to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War, a sphere of influence that could remain a concern amid China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Tech billionaire and DOGE Chair Elon Musk has been on a warpath against USAID, which is an independent U.S. agency that was established under the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations, as he leads DOGE’s mission of cutting government fat and overspending at the federal level.

Musk announced in an audio-only message on X over the weekend that “we’re in the process” of “shutting down USAID.”

“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs,” USAID’s website currently says. “Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST).”

A Fox News Digital review of USAID’s recent history shows that it has repeatedly been accused of financial mismanagement and corruption long before Trump’s second administration, with spending that took place under Power’s reign likely to continue to be a focus of conversation with Republicans.

The USAID flag flies in front of the USAID office in Washington on Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to Power in October 2024, sounding the alarm on the “likely misuse of more than one billion dollars in U.S. humanitarian aid sent to Gaza since October 2023,” Fox Digital reported at the time.

A Syrian national named Mahmoud Al Hafyan, 53, was charged in November 2024 for allegedly diverting more than $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid to terrorist groups, including the Al-Nusrah Front. The Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, is a designated terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda, according to the State Department.

The Government Accountability Office published a report in 2023 finding that both USAID and the National Institutes of Health directed taxpayer funds to American universities and a nonprofit organization before the money found its way to Chinese groups, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Eight auditors and employees for the USAID inspector general’s office sounded the alarm to the Washington Post in 2014 that negative findings surrounding the agency’s work were removed from final reports and audits.

Trump repeatedly proposed slashing the nation’s foreign aid budget for USAID and the State Department during his first administration, including proposing in his first year in office to slash the budgets by 37%, which Congress rejected.

“With $20 trillion in debt, the government must learn to tighten its belt,” Trump said in 2017 while advocating for the cuts.

Elon Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Power sat down with late-night host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night and defended USAID’s work and warned against shutting it down, claiming that children overseas in line for tuberculosis treatment were told to go home as a result of Trump’s executive order.

“Programs that were running, the people we’re depending on, in some cases, for life-saving medicine, like medicine, if you have HIV, that keeps you alive, quite literally,” Power told Colbert. “Or if you’re in Sudan and you have a child who’s wasting away because of malnutrition, a miracle paste, a peanut paste that USAID provides brings that kid back from the brink of death. All of those programs are shuttered.”

Democrat lawmakers took part in a rally against DOGE on Tuesday outside the Treasury Department, arguing that Musk’s actions are unconstitutional and a threat to Democracy.

“My heart is with the people out on the street outside USAID, but my head tells me, ‘Man, Trump will be well satisfied to have this fight,’” veteran strategist David Axelrod, who served with Power in the Obama administration, said this week. “When you talk about cuts, the first thing people say is: Cut foreign aid.”

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall, Emma Colton and Gregg Re contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

February 5, 2025
Trump Treasury head defends Elon Musk’s DOGE despite critics’ ‘squawking’

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses President Donald Trump’s economic and fiscal goals during his first interview on ‘Kudlow’ since joining the administration.

Since billionaire Elon Musk joined forces with President Donald Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), various Democrats and other critics have complained over the Tesla founder’s influence on the federal government.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, came to Musk and DOGE’s defense on “Kudlow” Wednesday.

“Elon Musk is the greatest entrepreneur of this generation,” Bessent told FOX Business host Larry Kudlow in his first interview since joining the Trump administration.

“DOGE is not going to fail. They are moving a lot of people’s cheese here in the capital, and when you hear this squawking, then some status quo interest is not happy,” he continued.

WHAT HAS DOGE CUT SO FAR?

Bessent’s defense comes after weekend reports claimed the Treasury Department granted DOGE personnel access to the federal government’s payment system. The Treasury spends roughly $6 trillion per year on payments for federal agencies.

Since then, a Treasury Department official told members of Congress on Tuesday that a tech executive working with DOGE, will have “read-only access” to the government’s payment system, stressing that it is committed to safeguarding the system after the department was granted access.

‘Varney & Co.’ host Stuart Varney discusses Elon Musk’s DOGE helping President Trump shut down USAID as more government slashing could be on the way.

The official wrote a letter in response to lawmakers who were concerned that DOGE’s access to the government’s payment system for the federal government could lead to security risks or missed payments for various programs, including Social Security and Medicare.

“At the Treasury, our payment system is not being touched,” Bessent said Wednesday. “We process 1.3 billion payments a year. There is a study being done — can we have more accountability, more accuracy, more traceability that the money is going where it is. But in terms of payments being stopped, that is happening upstream at the department level.”

PALANTIR CEO TOUTS ELON MUSK’S DOGE, ABILITY TO HOLD ‘SACRED COW OF THE DEEP STATE’ ACCOUNTABLE

The Treasury’s payments are managed by its Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which disburses nearly 90% of all federal payments and conducts more than 1.2 billion transactions per year, according to its website.

While lawmakers have expressed concerns that Musk possesses too much power within the U.S. government, Bessent emphasized the billionaire’s efforts are part of the Trump administration’s “mandate” from the American people.

“The U.S. doesn’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem. I think we can up the revenues, we can up the growth, and most importantly, President Trump got elected because of this affordability crisis… What is he going to do for the affordability crisis? Real wage growth for working Americans is the best way to fix this,” Bessent said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses President Donald Trump’s economic and fiscal goals during his first interview on ‘Kudlow’ since joining the administration. (Getty Images/Fox News / Fox News)

Bessent argued “gigantic government spending” fueled economic growth under the Biden administration but failed to bring about “real” wage growth.

In contrast, Bessent explained how the newly-elected Trump administration will tackle the affordability crisis by re-privatizing the economy, cutting taxes and regulations, addressing the growing deficit and boosting domestic energy production.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

FOX Business’ Landon Mion and Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

February 5, 2025
Social media, Team Trump react to Cory Booker’s ‘meltdown’ over Elon Musk’s USAID crackdown

Social media users are slamming a Democratic senator’s impassioned speech opposing a halt to millions of taxpayer dollars being funneled to controversial, DEI-aligned programs overseas.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke at a rally outside the Capitol building Wednesday in protest of Elon Musk’s sweep of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“We will fight their violation of civil service laws. We will fight their violation of civil rights laws. We will fight their violations of separation of powers. We will fight their violations of our Constitution of the United States of America,” Booker said. “We will not shut up. We will stick up. We will rise up.”

Trump’s rapid response team called out Booker for opposing cuts to the agency funding controversial programs, which, according to the White House, gave $1.5 million to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

‘SESAME STREET IN IRAQ’: USAID’S ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’ SPENDING EXPOSED BY SENATOR

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks at a rally in support of USAID on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla)

“Why is Cory Booker so angry at the idea of making sure American tax dollars are spent to further the national interest of the United States and not on things like ‘LGBT activism’ in Guatemala?” Team Trump wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“Cory Booker is having an absolute meltdown because we don’t want American tax dollars to be wasted on bizarre projects in foreign countries,” LibsofTikTok wrote.

WHITE HOUSE FLAGS TOP USAID BOONDOGGLES UNDER ELON MUSK’S MICROSCOPE

New Jersey state Sen. Mike Testa, a Republican, wrote that Booker is “grandstanding on behalf of foreign pet projects” instead of “standing up for the will of his constituents.”

“New Jerseyans have been kicked in the face and forgotten by their United States Senators for years,” Testa said on X. “We deserve a hell of a lot better.”

“Sen. Cory Booker is BIG MAD that lesbian dance therapy for Ethiopians will no longer be paid for by US tax dollars Why are Democrats like this?” wrote another user, Nick Sorter.

The White House released a detailed report outlining USAID spending over the past few years, including $15 million on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban and another $20 million allocated to fund Sesame Street in Iraq.

The funds were awarded by the Biden administration to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq” in an effort to reportedly “promote inclusion, mutual respect, and understanding across ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups.”

Protesters gathered outside the Capitol Monday rally against Elon Musk’s crackdown on USAID spending. (Fox News Digital)

Musk has been leading the charge to expose and cut funding from USAID as part of his spending crackdown at the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Hundreds of activists, including several Democratic members of Congress, gathered Wednesday to protest the USAID cuts and criticize Musk’s role in the Trump administration.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 5, 2025
Palantir CEO touts Elon Musk’s DOGE, ability to hold ‘sacred cows of the deep state’ accountable

‘Making Money’ host Charles Payne discusses the current state of global trade and The Fitz-Gerald Group principal Keith Fitz-Gerald analyzes Palantir on ‘Making Money.’

When asked whether the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would serve as roadblocks to their business, Palantir’s CEO and chief technology officer were overwhelmingly optimistic about the check-and-balance foundation that DOGE is laying.

“Palantir’s real competition is a lack of accountability in government, these forever software projects that cost an insane amount that don’t actually deliver results. They’re sacred cows of the deep state,” CTO Shyam Sankar said in the fourth-quarter earnings webcast on Tuesday.

“And I think DOGE is going to bring meritocracy and transparency to government. And that’s exactly what our commercial business is,” he continued. “The commercial market is meritocratic and transparent, and you see the results that we have in that sort of environment. And that’s the basis of our optimism around this.”

The artificial intelligence-enabled data analytics firm reached its own milestone this week, as investors reacted positively to Palantir’s Q4 earnings and caused shares to surge as high as 28% before settling at a 24% gain by market close.

WHAT IS U.S.A.I.D. AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS?

Forbes reported that Palantir’s market capitalization jumped up to $240 billion, a company record, making it more valuable than popular names like McDonald’s, American Express and Disney.

Top Palantir executives reportedly have no fears about risks DOGE could pose to its government contract-led business. (Getty Images)

More than half of Palantir’s business comes from government contracts. During an appearance on FOX Business in December, its CEO Alex Karp shared his wholehearted support for DOGE, adding that there’s no “better person” than Musk to lead it.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp opens up about the company’s success and weighs in on DOGE on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

“We love disruption, and whatever is good for America will be good for Americans and very good for Palantir,” Karp said on Tuesday’s webcast. “Disruption, [at] the end of the day, exposes things that aren’t working. There’ll be ups and downs. There’s a revolution. Some people can get their heads cut off.”

“We’re expecting to see really unexpected things and to win, basically, that’s what we’re going to do,” he expanded. “And we’re pretty optimistic about the U.S. environment.”

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar warns that if the United States entered a war with a near-peer adversary, our weapons stockpile would last weeks — not years — on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

“The work that we’ve done in government, it’s deeply operational, deeply valuable, and we’re pretty excited about exceptional engineers getting in there under the hood and being able to see that for a change,” Sankar also said.

As of Wednesday’s opening bell, Palantir stock was down slightly from its all-time Tuesday high of $105.79.

READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS

February 5, 2025
Pak vs Ind Live – Sports Corner Live – Opn Sports Live Pakistan vs India Live Match HD

February 5, 2025
Bill Gates weighs in on new Trump administration, Elon Musk’s role

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, argues the current federal government is inefficient and not meeting the needs of the American people on Making Money.

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates opened up on his recent meeting with President Donald Trump and his thoughts on Elon Musk’s involvement with the new administration.

Gates was interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday and was asked by host Savannah Guthrie about his recent meeting with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss his philanthropic endeavors through the Gates Foundation, which aims to fight poverty and disease around the world.

“The Gates Foundation works on saving lives, and the U.S. government has been an incredible partner, buying HIV medicine to keep tens of millions of people alive. And there’s so much innovation that can be done, you know, a vaccine for HIV,” Gates said.

“So I went to see President Trump to say, ‘Look, we both believe in saving lives. What can we do to accelerate innovation?’” he explained. “With the COVID vaccine, he did accelerate the availability of that.”

MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER BILL GATES ON DOGE: ‘COULD BE A VALUABLE THING’

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates discussed his recent meeting with President Trump in the interview. (Thierry Monasse/Rebecca Noble/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Guthrie asked if Gates felt like Trump was just placating him by saying he was receptive to the idea and whether he’s still hopeful after the president signed executive orders withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization and Elon Musk shutting down USAID.

“I’m still hopeful. I think all Americans can agree that keeping people alive for very little money, we should be proud of that. It started back with President [George W.] Bush. There’s some disruption going on now, and I want to engage positively to get things back on track,” the Microsoft co-founder said.

BILLIONAIRE BILL GATES DETAILS DINNER THAT LEFT HIM ‘IMPRESSED’ BY PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP

Guthrie asked Gates about his comments criticizing Musk’s involvement with far-right politicians overseas as being “insane s—” and whether he’s comfortable with Musk wielding power as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“Well I admire the great private sector stuff he’s done — you know, SpaceX, Tesla, both amazing companies. I think in the case of USAID, he doesn’t appreciate the phenomenal work that goes on. It’s not partisan work,” Gates said, noting its work on promoting nutrition around the world.

Gates also discussed Musk’s role with DOGE and his criticism of USAID. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Guthrie noted that Musk said that USAID is “beyond repair,” and Gates responded that his philanthropic work has given him a closer perspective of the agency’s work, which Musk may not be fully aware of.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

“I give billions of dollars to the same thing that USAID does,” Gates said. “I go out in the field and study these things. I hire scientists, and so I think if he really knew the work there, he wouldn’t be telling 10,000 people to not come and do that work.”

February 4, 2025
White House flags top USAID boondoggles under Elon Musk’s microscope

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

The White House on Monday released a list of projects overseen by the top U.S. aid agency it identified as “waste and abuse” as Elon Musk’s cost cutters seek to dismantle the decades-old provider of foreign aid.

Musk, a “special government employee,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, oversees the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Despite its title, DOGE is not a government agency but has been tasked by the White House’s executive office with dismantling top spending initiatives, and the billionaire’s most recent target is the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“For decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight,” the White House said Monday.

According to a list released by the White House, USAID allocated millions of dollars for programs the Trump administration considers controversial and that frequently involved diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives launched during the Biden administration.

WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS?

Billionaire Elon Musk is a “special government employee” working for the Trump administration to root out wasteful spending. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

At the top of the list was a $1.5 million program slated to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities” and a $70,000 program for a “DEI musical” in Ireland.

Initiatives that supported LGBTQI programs were also flagged as an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds, including $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia, $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru and $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala.

Fox News Digital could not independently verify the initiatives detailed by the White House in Colombia or Guatemala. The White House referenced reports about these programs by the Daily Mail, the Daily Caller News Foundation and other outlets.

The White House also detailed spending initiatives that launched during Trump’s previous administration, including a 2017-2019, $6 million agreement that it said was intended to “fund tourism” in Egypt.

MUSK’S DOGE TAKES AIM AT ‘VIPER’S NEST’ FEDERAL AGENCY WITH GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

USAID humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela is displayed for the media at a warehouse next to the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, Feb. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

However, the link referencing the Egyptian program detailed how it was intended to build on previous investments in North Sinai that provided potable water and wastewater services to hundreds of thousands of people and would provide further “access to transportation for rural communities and economic livelihood programming for families.”

The White House also outlined USAID’s funding for coronavirus research, including millions of taxpayer dollars supplied to EcoHealth Alliance for coronavirus research, support for contraceptive initiatives and programs that it said benefited terrorists in several countries.

The future of USAID remains unclear, though the doors to its headquarters were closed Monday, and thousands of employees across the globe sat waiting to hear whether they still had jobs after the apparent Musk takeover.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been named the acting director, and he agreed Monday with the White House that the agency needed an overhaul.

“The president made me the acting administrator,” he told Fox News. “I’ve delegated that power to someone who is there full-time, and we’re going to go through the same process at USAID as we’re going through now at the State Department.”

Employees and supporters gather to protest outside the U.S. Agency for International Development headquarters Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Questions remain over whether the White House has the legal authority to dismantle an independent agency, and Democratic lawmakers on Monday joined agency employees who stood outside the headquarters protesting the shutdown despite having been told to remain at home.

Rubio took issue with the protests and referred to them as “rank insubordination.”

“The goal was to reform it, but now we have rank insubordination,” he said. “Now we have basically an active effort — their basic attitude is, ‘We don’t work for anyone. We work for ourselves. No agency of government can tell us what to do.’”

February 4, 2025
Musk’s DOGE takes aim at ‘viper’s nest’ federal agency

Join Fox News for access to this content

You have reached your maximum number of articles. Log in or create an account FREE of charge to continue reading.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is taking aim at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and, according to senior congressional sources, moved to seize control of the independent agency over the weekend.

The senior congressional sources told Fox News that more than 50 senior USAID staff members were placed on administrative leave and subjected to a gag order, meaning they were not allowed to communicate with anyone outside the agency without approval.

Signs were also removed from USAID’s headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., and the DOGE team took over the computer systems, the sources said. USAID is responsible for distributing civilian foreign aid and development assistance to countries around the globe. The agency managed approximately $40 billion in appropriations last year, according to the Congressional Research Service.

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that the Trump administration placed two top security chiefs at USAID on leave after refusing to turn over classified material in restricted areas to DOGE.

RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’

The U.S. Agency of International Development flag flies in front of the agency’s headquarters building in Washington.

After initially being refused access to USAID’s classified information, DOGE eventually gained that access on Saturday, allowing them to see things like intelligence reports, a current and a former U.S. official told the AP.

The DOGE team members lacked high enough security clearance to access the information, so the two USAID security officials – John Voorhees and deputy Brian McGill – believed they were legally obligated to deny access.

On Sunday, Musk took aim at USAID on his social media platform X, saying, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.”

AFTER RAUCOUS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE, DONALD TRUMP TO KEEP HIS FOOT ON THE GAS

He also wrote several other posts about the agency, saying things like, “USAID was a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America” and “USAID is evil.”

The latter was in response to a post suggesting USAID helped fund coronavirus research in Wuhan, China, which referred to an interaction posted on Forbes between Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and now former USAID Administrator Samantha Power in April 2023.

ABC News reported that those familiar with USAID were questioning whether the moves at USAID were being made in an effort to move the agency under the State Department, where there could be better accountability.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NEEDS MORE PLANES TO CARRY OUT DEPORTATIONS: REPORT

Elon Musk jumps on stage as he joins former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images/File)

Last week, at least 56 USAID officials were placed on administrative leave with full pay and benefits, and several hundred contractors based in Washington and elsewhere were laid off.

The actions came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting on Trump’s executive order, paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The 90-day pause has halted thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide and forced aid organizations to lay off hundreds of employees because they can’t make payroll.

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 3, 2025
Powell pushes back on Musk’s claim Fed is ‘absurdly overstaffed’

Wharton School finance professor emeritus Jeremy Siegel gives his take on the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave rates unchanged on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back Wednesday on billionaire Elon Musk’s claim the central bank is bloated when he was asked it them during a press conference.

Elon Musk, the leader of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), wrote in a post on X last month, “The Fed is absurdly overstaffed.”

Powell was asked about those remarks by FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence at a press conference after the central bank’s announcement it would hold interest rates steady.

“We run a very careful budget process where we’re fully aware. We owe that to the public, and we believe we do that. I’ve got no further comment on that, thanks,” Powell responded.

FEDERAL RESERVE HOLDS INTEREST RATES STEADY AMID INFLATION UNCERTAINTY

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank has a careful budgeting process. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Powell and the Fed have faced political criticism from Musk before.

In May, Musk posted that the “Fed has a crazy high number of employees.”

The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX also said last summer the Fed was too slow in cutting interest rates, writing on X in August that the Fed “needs to drop rates” and has been “foolish not to have done so already.”

ELON MUSK’S DOGE MAKES ANOTHER HIRING PUSH

Elon Musk has criticized Powell and the Fed multiple times. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Fed cut interest rates at its meeting in September for the first time since March 2020 as inflation cooled from a 40-year high it reached in June 2022.

The central bank cut the benchmark federal funds rate by 50 basis points in September, followed by smaller 25 basis point cuts in November and December, before pausing this month amid economic uncertainty.

DOGE, which President Donald Trump officially established via executive order upon his return to the White House last week, aims to slash government waste and provide increased transparency with government spending.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Some of the cuts proposed by Musk include simplifying the U.S. tax code, auditing the Pentagon, ending federal employees’ remote work, reevaluating expired congressional programs, modernizing IT systems and protecting federal healthcare and Social Security benefits, to name a few.

FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.

January 29, 2025
Elon Musk’s X and Visa ink deal as it pursues becoming the ‘everything’ app

Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

X has inked a partnership with Visa as the Elon Musk-owned social media platform seeks to become an “everything” app that offers peer-to-peer payments and other capabilities.

“Another milestone for the Everything App: @Visa is our first partner for the @XMoney Account, which will debut later this year,” X CEO Linda Yaccarino said Tuesday.

According to the social media platform’s CEO, X Money Accounts will support “secure + instant” funding to X Wallets using Visa Direct, Visa’s digital payment network.

The X logo is being displayed on a smartphone, with the X app, formerly known as Twitter, and X visible in the background, in this photo illustration taken in Brussels, Belgium, on January 5, 2024. (Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

When the X Money Account service launches later in the year, Yaccarino said users will also have the ability to do peer-to-peer payments by connecting their debit cards.

ELON MUSK ANNOUNCES X, SPACEX HQS WILL MOVE FROM CALIFORNIA TO TEXAS AFTER NEW GENDER IDENTITY LAW

Transfers of funds directly to users’ bank accounts will be available through the partnership with Visa as well, her post said.

The financial services company said on X that it was “excited to partner with @XMoney on the launch of X Money Account.”

Visa Inc. credit and debit cards are arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, April 22, 2019. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The profile for X Money, which was created in January of last year, described itself as being “for all your money moves, powered by X.”

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The deal with Visa is the “first of many big announcements” about X Money that users of the social media platform can expect in 2025, Yaccarino indicated.

Musk has long wanted to incorporate payment features on X, which he acquired more than two years ago for $44 billion. He has also voiced a goal of turning the platform into an “everything” app on multiple occasions.

BMW UK ANNOUNCES IT’S LEAVING X – AND GETS MERCILESSLY MOCKED

For example, in July 2023 when the social media site rebranded from Twitter to X, the tech billionaire said the company would “add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world” to X.

SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall on October 26, 2024 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Since Musk became the owner of the platform, X has rolled out audio and video calling features, job searching and posting capabilities and other tools. The artificial intelligence chatbot Grok has also become available on X to Premium and Premium+ subscribers.

Musk made Yaccarino the CEO of X in June 2023, ending his roughly seven-month tenure in the position.

January 28, 2025