Democrats lawmakers threw cold water Monday on Elon Musk’s push to get President Trump to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development.

They said the only way USAID would be shuttered was to have Congress change the 1961 law that established the agency.

“If you want to change it, you have to change that law,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia at a press conference with fellow Democrats outside the USAID headquarters in Washington. “It is a matter for Congress to deal with — not an unelected, billionaire oligarch named Elon Musk.”

Mr. Musk dropped a bombshell earlier in the day, saying that USAID, which has a $40 billion budget, was “beyond repair” and that Mr. Trump had agreed to close its doors.

“We’re shutting it down,” Mr. Musk said on X.

USAID employees in Washington also received notice that the headquarters in Washington was closed Monday to agency personnel, sparking outrage from employees.

In response, Democrats in the House and Senate gathered outside the building to voice their displeasure with the Trump administration and Mr. Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency, which is looking to identify $1 trillion in wasteful spending.

They slammed the Musk-led effort, warning it threatens lives across the globe and suggesting Mr. Musk was turning a blind eye to wasteful spending in the $900 billion Pentagon budget because his companies benefit from defense contracts.

“This is a corrupt abuse of power that is going on,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. “It is not only a gift to our adversaries, but trying to shut down the agency for international development by executive order is plainly illegal.”

“Elon Musk may get to be dictator of Tesla, and he may try to play dictator here in Washington, D.C., but he doesn’t get to shut down the agency for international development,” he said.

The agency provided more than 40% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations last year.

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.