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

According to a notice distributed to employees of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), staff at the agency's Washington headquarters were instructed not to enter the headquarters building on Monday after billionaire Elon Musk announced that President Donald Trump had agreed to his proposal to shut down the agency. This news has sparked widespread attention and speculation, with employees expressing their concerns.

USAID employees also stated that they tracked over 600 employees reporting that their computer systems were locked overnight. Personnel who received the email stated that, "under the direction of agency leadership," the headquarters building "will be closed to agency personnel on Monday, February 3rd." These circumstances suggest that significant adjustments may be underway within the agency.

Previously, Musk stated that he had discussed the six-decade-old U.S. aid and development agency with Trump, and that "he agreed that we should shut it down." Musk is conducting an extraordinary civilian review of the federal government with the Republican president's approval. "It's clear that this isn't a case of one bad apple, but a bunch of worms," Musk said in a live broadcast on X Spaces. "You basically have to get rid of the whole thing, it's beyond repair." He also stated clearly, "We're shutting it down."

Musk, Trump, and some Republican lawmakers have been targeting the U.S. aid and development agency, which oversees humanitarian, development, and security projects in approximately 120 countries, with increasingly harsh rhetoric, accusing it of promoting liberal causes. Furthermore, according to the Associated Press, the Trump administration suspended two senior security executives at USAID over the weekend because they refused to hand over classified materials within restricted areas to Musk's government inspection team.

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) previously conducted a similar operation 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's access to sensitive information. Democratic lawmakers protested these moves, stating that Trump lacked the constitutional authority to shut down USAID without congressional approval, and condemning Musk for accessing sensitive government-held information through his Trump-approved inspections of federal government agencies and programs. Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that Trump was allowing Musk to access people's personal information and shut down government funding. She emphasized, "We must do everything we can to fight back and protect people from harm."