Elon Musk says he and Donald Trump working to shut down USAid which provides $40,000,000,000 in humanitarian support annually

Elon Musk has said he and President Donald Trump are working to pull the shutter down on foreign aid agency USAid as he declared it's 'beyond repair'.

Trump is certainly not afraid to make unpopular decisions during his time in the Oval Office, and has subsequently signed a number of executive orders since returning to the White House two weeks ago.

The 47th POTUS broke records for the number of executive orders signed on his first day as president, and has gone on to sign orders that impose higher tariffs on imports from China, Canada and Mexico, plus making changes to passports and immigration.

Now, Twitter and Tesla owner Musk - who is working within the Trump administration - has taken to Twitter to detail plans to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAid).

In a conversation involving Republican senator Joni Ernst and Mike Lee, plus former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk said: "It’s [USAid] beyond repair. He [Trump] agreed we should shut it down."

The billionaire added: "It became apparent that it's not an apple with a worm it in. What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing."

Musk's comments come just days after Trump's administration placed two top security chiefs at USAid on leave because they refused to hand over classified material to Musk's governmental team, AP reports.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, has since gained access to the material on Sunday (February 2), the outlet states.

Elon Musk has said Donald Trump is backing plans to shut it down (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Responding to a Twitter post regarding the news, Musk added: "USAid is a criminal organization. Time for it to die."

What is USAid?

USAid - which has around 10,000 staff - is the world's largest single donor of humanitarian aid, having spent over $40 million across the world in the fiscal year 2023.

The organization's spending is decided by Congress, and focuses mainly on providing aid overseas and supporting international charities.

Some of the money goes to the likes of women’s health in conflict zones, access to clean water, and HIV/AIDS treatment.

Democrat Peter Welch has called for an explanation as to why Musk needed access to the sensitive data, including taxpayers’ personal details.

Nonetheless, President Trump has expressed his support for Musk, telling press recently: "He’s a big cost-cutter. Sometimes we won’t agree with it and we’ll not go where he wants to go.

"But I think he’s doing a great job. He’s a smart guy. Very smart. And he’s very much into cutting the budget of our federal budget."

Musk has dubbed USAid a 'criminal organization' (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Can Donald Trump actually shut down USAid?

Trump may be able to massively downside USAid using executive orders, but he would likely need the support of Congress to actually shut it down altogether.

This is because Congress established USAid as an independent agency in 1998, having first been created in 1961 by John F. Kennedy.

Just Security explains: "Litigation and congressional oversight are certain to follow, but the question is how effective either will be in the immediate term at stopping the most damaging impacts for USAID’s programs and its employees.

"The details of the E.O. will shape how specific challenges to the action unfold, but expect to see at a minimum suits brought by beneficiaries of USAID programs, impoundment act challenges, and more.”