Elon Musk called USAID a criminal organization that should “die.” Proponents say it’s a key arm of U.S. influence that, if destroyed, “cannot be easily rebuilt.”

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Monday that he and President Donald Trump were in the process of shutting down the USAID, escalating their war on the federal bureaucracy.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Mr. Musk’s representatives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency a powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending.