USAID — message instructs employees to stay out of headquarters

Washington (AP) – Employees of the US Agency for International Development were asked to stay out of the agency’s headquarters in Washington on Monday, according to a message distributed to them after billionaire Elon Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to close the agency.

USAID employees said they also tracked more than 600 employees reporting to be locked out of the agency’s computer systems overnight. Those still in the system received e emails that said “in the direction of the agency’s management” will the headquarters’ building “be closed to the agency staff on Monday, February 3rd.”

Developments come after Musk, who leads an extraordinary civilian review of the federal government with the Republican President’s agreement, said early Monday that he had spoken to Trump about the US assistance and development agency, and “he agreed that we should close it down. “

“It became clear that it is not an apple with a worm it in,” Musk said in a Live Session on X -Rum early Monday. “What we have is just a worm ball. You have to basically get rid of it all. It is without repair. “

“We shut it down,” he said.

Musk, Trump and some Republican lawmakers have targeted the US aid and Development Agency, which oversees humanitarian, development and security programs for approx. 120 countries, increasingly conflicting conditions and accusing it of promoting liberal causes.

During the weekend, Trump placed the two -top security managers at USAID On leave After they refused to turn classified material into limited areas to Musk’s government inspection team, a current and a former US official told Associated Press Sunday.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiencyknown as DOGE, previously performed A similar operation at the Ministry of FinanceSensitive information, including Social Security and Medicare Customer Payment Systems. Washington Post reported that a senior finance ministry had withdrawn over Musk’s team that gained access to sensitive information.

Democratic legislators have protested over the moves and said that Trump lacks constitutional authority to close USAID without congressional approval and decrying Musk’s access to sensitive state information through his Trump -sanctioned inspections of federal state agencies and programs.

USID, if web site disappeared Saturday without explanation has been one of the federal agencies most targeted of Trump -Administration in an escalating crash on the federal government And many of its programs.

“It has been driven by a bunch of radical madman. And we get them out, ”Trump told journalists about USAID on Sunday night.

Musk’s and Trump’s comments came with State Secretary Marco Rubio out of the country, in Central America, on his first trip abroad in the office. Rubio has not talked publicly about any plans to close USAD.

Trump -Administration and Rubio have imposed an unprecedented Freeze on foreign aid It has closed much of USAids’ aids all over the world – convincing thousands of redundancies of aid organizations – and ordered furloughs and magazines that have blurred agency management and staff In Washington ..

Peter Marocco, a recurring political appointment from Trump’s first period, was the leader to enforce the shutdown. USAID employees say they believe the agency’s outsiders with visitors’ badges who ask questions from Washington’s headquarters are members of Musk’s Doge team.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a post on Sunday that Trump allowed Musk to access people’s personal information and close the government’s funding.

“We have to do everything we can to push back and protect people from injury,” said the Massachusetts senator without giving details.