HIV/AIDS relief administered through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been halted around the world as part of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. Because DOGE is not an actual federal executive department —the creation of which would require congressional approval — Democratic critics are calling Musk’s actions illegal.

Billions of dollars in USAID aid was frozen by the Trump administration last week as DOGE staff descended on the agency. Despite an exemption granted for some funds associated with PEPFAR — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — the drugs are still not reaching their intended recipients, increasingly the likelihood of rising HIV rates and possible outbreaks abroad.

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A cadre of mostly young DOGE agents, some just out of college, took over the agency’s secure systems last week, placed key personnel on administrative leave, shut down staff email accounts and cut off communication with organizations administering the relief overseas.

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“It’s been absolutely hellish,” a current USAID employee told Wired.

PEPFAR is estimated to have saved 26 million lives since its launch in 2003.

USAID staff say PEPFAR clients in Zambia, Nigeria, Haiti, and Mozambique have been affected as antiretroviral drugs, PrEP medication and condoms sit in limbo.

“When a baby is born, you do an early infant diagnostic test, and if it comes back positive, you can blitz them with retrovirals, but you can’t do that if you don’t have retrovirals,” one USAID worker said. “It’s an absolute disaster.”

“Your money is being unfrozen but you can’t contact the people who actually froze it,” a senior official at one HIV/AIDS organization told Wired. “There’s a bigger communication blockage that is frustrating even the efforts put in place to free up the lifesaving work.”

In addition to USAID, the young DOGE staff — plucked from Musk companies like xAI, Tesla and the Boring Company — have taken over the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, and accessed the Treasury Department’s trillion-dollar payment system, providing Musk with sensitive information about tens of millions of citizens, businesses, and more. 

USAID is an independent U.S. government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. The agency’s $50 billion budget is funded and overseen by Congress.

“We don’t have a fourth branch of government called ‘Elon Musk,’ and that’s going to become real clear,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) on Monday outside USAID headquarters, where he and other lawmakers protested Musk’s takeover of the agency. They were blocked from entering the building.

“This illegal, unconstitutional interference with congressional power is threatening lives all over the world,” Raskin said.

USAID staff with access to their email accounts received a notice overnight Sunday night from Ken Jackson, the agency’s assistant to the administrator for management and resources, warning the agency “would likely undergo a reorganization” and be integrated into the State Department, a move that is likely to garner lawsuits and legal challenges, The Hill reported.

“As we evaluate USAID and ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda, the President Trump Administration, and the efforts of the State Department, we will focus on ensuring every agency dollar is delivering targeted and results-driven aid,” the email read.

The remaining staff were told to work remotely on Monday as DOGE took over agency offices.

On Sunday, Trump announced Secretary of State Marco Rubio would serve as acting head of the agency. Rubio followed up during a trip to Central America on Monday accusing USAID of “rank insubordination.”

“Their basic attitude is, ‘We don’t work for anyone, we work for ourselves, no agency of government can tell us what to do,’” Rubio said. “So the president made me the acting administrator.”

On Saturday, DOGE personnel attempted to improperly access classified information and security systems at the agency, CNN reported. Top security officials who tried to thwart the attempt were put on leave.

Musk has made the elimination of the agency a top DOGE priority and joined USAID staff calls as his lieutenants dismantled it, according to sources who spoke with ABC News. He fixated on the agency over the weekend in a barrage of tweets to his social media platform, X.

“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk wrote in one post on Sunday without citing any evidence.

As of Tuesday, the agency’s website was disabled.

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