Washington (TDI): Elon Musk has said that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) should “die” following reports that two senior security officials were placed on leave for denying his representatives access to classified materials.
Musk, who was appointed by US President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, on Monday declared USAID a “criminal organization” after security officials reportedly denied members of his cost-cutting task force access to restricted areas of the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC, Al Jazeera reported.
“Time for it to die,” Musk said in a statement.
USAID’s director of security, John Voorhees, and his deputy, Brian McGill, were sent on leave after denying DOGE personnel entry to secure areas over their lack of security clearances.
The representatives of DOGE, which was established in an executive order by Trump but is not a government department, were ultimately able to access areas with classified information following the confrontation, according to US media reports.
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White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung rejected reports that DOGE officials had attempted to gain access to secure areas.
However, Katie Miller, who serves in DOGE, appeared to acknowledge the task force’s attempted entry, stating that “no classified material was accessed without proper security clearances”.
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The incident has added to concerns that President Trump, who has placed a freeze on about all foreign assistance, is planning to radically curtail, or even outright dismantle, USAID.
