USAID staff told to stay out of Washington HQ after Musk said Trump agreed to close it

Staff at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were notified that they would not be allowed to enter the agency’s headquarters building in Washington on Monday. This came after billionaire Elon Musk announced that President Donald Trump had agreed to his proposal to shut down the agency.

According to USAID staff, they also tracked that computer systems for more than 600 employees were locked overnight. Employees still in the system received an email stating that, “as directed by agency leadership,” the headquarters building would be “closed to agency personnel on Monday, February 3rd.”

These developments stemmed from Musk stating earlier on Monday that he had discussed the sixty-year-old U.S. aid and development agency with Trump, and that “he agreed we should shut it down.” Musk said during a live broadcast on X Spaces: “It’s clear that it’s not a case of a bad apple, it’s a barrel of worms. You have to eradicate it completely, it’s beyond repair.” He also stated: “We are shutting it down.”

Musk, Trump, and some Republican lawmakers have been increasingly critical of USAID, which oversees humanitarian, development, and security projects in about 120 countries, accusing the agency of promoting liberal causes. Over the weekend, the Trump administration suspended two senior security directors at USAID for refusing to hand over classified material within restricted areas to Musk’s government inspection team.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) previously conducted similar actions at the Treasury Department, gaining access to sensitive information including Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems. The Washington Post reported that a senior Treasury official resigned due to Musk’s team accessing sensitive information. Democratic lawmakers protested the moves, stating that Trump does not have the authority to shut down USAID without congressional approval, and decrying Musk’s access to sensitive government information through Trump-approved inspections of federal government agencies and programs.

The USAID website disappeared without explanation on Saturday, and the agency has been one of the targets of an escalating Trump administration crackdown on the federal government and many of its programs. “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. We’re getting them out,” Trump told reporters on Sunday evening when speaking about USAID. Musk and Trump made these statements as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Central America on his first overseas trip since taking office. Rubio has not publicly commented on any plans to shut down USAID.

The Trump administration and Rubio have implemented unprecedented freezes on foreign aid, resulting in the closure of most USAID assistance projects worldwide, forcing aid organizations to lay off thousands of staff, and ordering furloughs and resignations, weakening the agency's leadership and staff in Washington. Peter Marocco, a returning political appointee from Trump’s first term, is the leader of the shutdown operation.

USAID staff said they believe that individuals from outside the agency who had visitor badges and were asking employees questions inside the Washington headquarters were members of Musk’s DOGE team. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a post on Sunday that Trump was allowing Musk to access people’s personal information and shut down government funding. “We must do everything we can to fight back and protect people from harm,” the Massachusetts senator said, without providing specifics.