Elon Musk has set his sights on shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development and said President Trump is fully on board with the move.

Mr. Musk, the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, said the president “agreed we should shut it down.”

“It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm in it,” Mr. Musk said in a live session on X Spaces early Monday morning. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.”

“We’re shutting it down,” he said.

The future of USAID got fuzzier after staffers received emails directing them to stay out of the USAID headquarters in Washington, saying it is closed to “Agency personnel on Monday, Feb. 3.”

The USAID sends aid to developing countries and countries in conflict, including humanitarian aid for disasters and emergencies worldwide. According to the Congressional Research Service, the agency managed more than $40 billion in taxpayer funds in 2023.

Speaking with reporters at Joint Andrews Base Sunday night, Mr. Trump criticized USAID but stopped short of saying he planned to close it.

He said the agency is run “by a bunch of radical lunatics,” and he added, “We are getting them out.”

The shutdown threat follows a clash between the DOGE advisory board and top security officials at the USAID. The officials refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to the DOGE team, an official told The Associated Press.

The USAID officials said they thought they were legally bound to oppose the DOGE request.

Mr. Musk piled on after the news broke about his comments.

“USAID is a criminal organization,” he wrote on X. “Time for it to die.”

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