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Following the closure of the United States Agency for International Development – days after President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. should "take over" and develop the Gaza Strip – the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could next set its sights on the Social Security Administration.
Knewz.com has learned that the new "pseudo-governmental" agency has slashed the workforce of USAID from 10,000 to less than 300, according to reports.
President Trump reportedly said about the civilian foreign aid and development assistance agency that “the whole thing is fraud,” and later posted on Friday, February 7, "Close it down!"
Led by Musk and a group of engineers, DOGE is scanning the federal government for areas where it can identify and remove what it deems as unnecessary government expenditures.
United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement that Musk's closure of USAID was a "big strategic mistake."
"Development remains a very important soft power tool. And in the absence of development … I would be very worried that China and others step into that gap," Lammy said in a statement.
Protests have already erupted against the Musk-led DOGE and their downsizing of government employees at a concerning rate.
It is worth noting that despite previous assurances the department made to federal lawmakers, anonymous DOGE officials have revealed that the department sought to gain access to the U.S. Department of Treasury payment system to stop money from going into USAID.
According to reports, in a letter addressed to federal lawmakers on Tuesday, the department assured that it only intended "to review the integrity of the payments and had “read-only access” to the system as part of an audit process."
Reports have clarified that those involved in the department are clear about its objective: "They’re empowered to slash government spending and remodel agencies to fall in line with the president’s agenda."
Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican Senator from Iowa and the head of the Senate’s DOGE Caucus, commented on the ruckus caused by the department, saying:
"There’s a lot of disruption, but I would argue that that disruption was needed to be able to go in and scrutinize the record, scrutinize expenditures to fully understand what’s going on... If it’s expenditures that the majority of American people don’t agree with, that the president doesn’t agree with, we’re glad to see it gone."
And now, the Tesla CEO's department is reportedly gunning for the Social Security Administration, an agency that provides benefits to the elderly and disabled.
At the same time, DOGE has reportedly gained access to highly restricted government records on millions of federal employees, as part of what reports mention is "a broader effort to take control" over the Office of Personnel Management.
"Federal employees at the Labor Department are racing to block Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from hobbling the agency and gaining access to sensitive computer systems, following similar efforts at USAID and the Office of Personnel Management," reports have mentioned.
"Government employee unions and labor groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Wednesday contending that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will attempt to illegally gain access to Labor Department systems containing sensitive information and unlawfully fire career personnel," a report from POLITICO added.