President Donald Trump ordered U.S. agencies yesterday to work closely with top adviser Elon Musk’s effort to shrink the federal workforce by identifying government employees who can be laid off and functions that can be eliminated entirely.
Billionaire Musk stood next to Trump in the Oval Office at the White House before the order was signed, taking questions from reporters.
Responding to a reporter, Elon Musk made a special statement regarding the possible usage of financial resources from USAID for political purposes by certain countries during their election campaigns.
Musk expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of USAID’s efforts, particularly when it comes to its financial impact. “I think there are some worthy things, but overall, if you ask, what was the bang for the buck, I would say it was not very good,” Musk said. “And there was far too much of what USAID was doing that was influencing elections in ways that I think were dubious and do not stand the light of day.”
President Trump, who stood by Musk’s side during the exchange, echoed the sentiment, describing USAID as “corrupt” and “incompetent.” Trump emphasized that he hoped the individuals working under him would “do the right thing” by ensuring that everything was “honest, legitimate, and competent.”
At the same time, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has written a letter to Elon Musk complaining about the subsidies and grants that the USAID agency has provided to NGOs, media outlets, and specific journalists in Slovakia.
Fico wrote in a Facebook post; “It is indisputable that financial resources from USAID were used in Slovakia for political purposes, with the aim of distorting the political system and favouring certain political parties”.
The Prime Minister continued to say that “even from incomplete public sources, it is clear that the USAID agency supported these entities with subsidies amounting to several million dollars over a relatively short period.”
