Image source, Reuters

The White House has confirmed to the BBC that Elon Musk - who said on Monday of USAID that officials are "shutting it down" - is serving as a special government employee.

In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says: "Elon Musk is selflessly serving President Trump’s istration as a special government employee, and he has abided by all applicable federal laws."

According to the US justice department,, external a special government employee is “anyone who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period.”

According to CNN, who spoke to someone familiar with Musk's employment, the tech billionaire is not being paid for the work. Another official familiar with the matter told CNN he has top security clearance.

The Associated Press news agency reports that Musk has a government email address and office space in the White House complex.

• For context: Musk, the world's richest man, is heading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). It is not an official government department but has been set up in order to slash what Musk and Trump see as inefficiencies within federal government.

The head of the Foreign Relations Senate Committee, Republican Jim Risch, has come out in of Donald Trump and Elon Musk's plans to bring USAID under Marco Rubio and the State Department.

"I've said for years that the greatest national security threat Americans face is our skyrocketing national debt," Risch says in a statement.

"We must confront this, and to do so hard choices will need to be made, and all parts of government will have to be looked at very closely," he adds.

"I'm ive of the Trump istration’s efforts to reform and restructure the agency in a way that better serves US national security interests."

• For context: According to government data, the US spent $68bn (£55bn) on international aid in 2023.That total is spread across several departments and agencies, but USAID's budget constitutes more than half of it at about $40bn. The US government's total spending for the 2023 fiscal year, external was about $6.1 trillion - meaning funds for USAID made up a little more than half a percent of the year's total spending.

A letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to senior of Congress reportedly says the state department will be consulting with Congress and its appropriate committees "to reorganize and absorb certain bureaus, offices, and missions of USAID".

Obtained by CBS News, the BBC's US partner, the letter says it is notifying those it is addressed to of the department's intent to initiate consultations regarding the manner in which foreign aid is distributed around the world through USAID.

"Current foreign assistance processes are severely inefficient and do not substantially benefit the American people," the letter reads. "USAID has numerous conflicting, overlapping, and duplicative functions that it shared with the Department of State."

It goes on to say that the State Department's director of foreign assistance, Peter Marocco, has been appointed the deputy of USAID - a post he has previously held - in order "to begin the process of engaging in a review and potential reoganization of USAID's activities".

It says that "in consultation with Congress, USAID may move, reorganize, and integrate certain missions, bureaus, and offices into the Department of State, and the remainder of the Agency may be abolished consistent with applicable law."

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

The American Foreign Service Association, a union that represents about 1,800 USAID staffers and other foreign service officers, has called the Trump istration's reported plan to merge USAID with the State Department "alarming".

Doing so "without congressional notification and no clear plan for continuity, raises serious concerns about the future of US development policy and America’s global standing," they said.

AFSA President Thomas Yazdgerdi told the BBC that "at least several dozen" USAID staffers have been put on istrative leave, "if not more, probably more at this point".

He estimated that number to be about sixty people, but noted that "it's hard to get facts and figures right now. We're just getting anecdotally from what we hear from our ."

He said employees put on istrative leave have certain rights as federal employees, and that the union was prepared to help affected USAID workers.

We can now bring you reactions from more Democratic lawmakers on the activities of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - which is not an official government department but has been created with the authorisation of President Donald Trump to cut down on government operations.

Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer says of Doge's activities, which have reportedly included gaining access to sensitive federal payment data at the Treasury Department: "before our eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government."

Schumer says Doge "has no authority to make spending decisions. It has no authority to shut programs down or ignore federal law, to give Doge a chokehold on Treasury payments is outlandishly dangerous."

In a similar vein, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren says: "The system that makes sure that your granddad gets his social security check, the system that makes sure that your mom's doctor gets Medicare payment to cover her medical appointment, and the system that makes sure that you get the tax refund that you're owed, has been taken over by Elon Musk".

"Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies are determined to take over this government to make it work better for themselves and worse for everyone else", she adds.

Image source, Reuters

Tom Bateman
State Department correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It was early on a Saturday when hundreds of staff who operate a sprawling humanitarian operation at the Al-Hol displacement camp in north-east Syria were given a clear message: "Stop work."

The despatch was as abrupt as it was distressing for those who knew the daily work of stabilising the site, which holds 40,000 people, mostly women and children, displaced from areas previously controlled by the Islamic State group.

Water, sanitation and security were all upended at the huge camp, said a senior humanitarian worker familiar with its operation. Another facility in Syria's north-east, Al Roj, was also hit by the sudden order. IS suspects are held near both sites.

"All of a sudden, you [risked] real instability and violence rising, as well as, obviously, former ISIS on the street," said Susan Reichle, a retired USAID Foreign Service officer.

The dramatic stop-work order came after President Trump froze all foreign assistance provided by the United States, by far the world's biggest aid donor, on his first day back in office, calling for a review to ensure it abided by his "America First" foreign policy.

Read more: How a US freeze upended global aid in a matter of days

Phil McCausland
US reporter

Democratic lawmakers have spoken again to reporters outside USAID, saying that Elon Musk's Doge representatives have told USAID agency employees to work remotely.

This is the opposite of what other federal employees have been told by the Trump istration, which is attempting to force all its workers to return to their offices full-time.

"If Elon Musk wants to shut this place down, he should have the decency to come out here and speak to all of you," Senator Chris Van Hollen said as he stood outside of the USAID building earlier today.

Jamie Raskin, a Maryland congressman, alleged that this effort to close USAID is a form of political retaliation, and he notes attempts by the Trump istration to identify employees' political loyalties in other agencies.

"You cannot be fired or dismissed or involuntarily reassigned as a matter of political retaliation," Raskin says. "And all of this is political retaliation and discrimination."

He says that for federal workers to be fired there has to be istrative due process and clear evidence that they have done something wrong.

"We are governed by due process and the rule of law in America, as much as Donald Trump and Elon Musk don’t like it," he adds.

According to government data, the US spent $68bn (£55bn) on international aid in 2023.

That total is spread across several departments and agencies, but USAID's budget constitutes more than half of it - at about $40bn.

The majority of that money is spent in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe - primarily on humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

The US is the world's biggest spender on international development - and by some margin.

To put it into context, the UK is the world's fourth-largest aid spender. In 2023, it spent £15.3bn, external - around a quarter of what the US provided.

USAID's activities range from providing prosthetic limbs to soldiers injured in Ukraine, to clearing landmines and containing the spread of Ebola in Africa. The effects of shutting off USAID spending could be truly global.

After the 90-day overseas spending freeze was announced, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "every dollar" must be "justified" by evidence that it makes the US safer, stronger and more prosperous.

It remains to be seen which parts of USAID's work meet those criteria, as far as the White House is concerned.

President Trump has made it clear he wants overseas spending to be closely aligned with his "America First" approach. And the international development sector is braced for more shockwaves.

There are also questions about how much the US will spend overseas in years to come, as Musk - empowered by Trump - attempts to cut billions from the government's budget.

Phil McCausland
Reporting from New York

Standing outside the USAID building, Senator Chris Van Hollen said that he and other Democrats in the Senate plan to block State Department nominees "from going forward until this illegal action is reversed".

In the US, the president nominates senior istration officials who are then voted on by the US Senate. Democrats aim to do whatever they can to stop or slow this process until the Trump istration backpedals on its effort to shutter USAID.

Van Hollen noted, however, that Democrats are in the minority in Congress, which means their power is limited.

He said that because no Republicans in the House or Senate are ing their effort, the main action to reverse this action is in the courts.

Earlier today, we heard from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio said he was now the acting boss of USAID.

We have some more details on that now, with a new statement from the government.

"As an interim step toward gaining control and better understanding over the agency’s activity, President Donald J. Trump appointed Secretary Marco Rubio as Acting ," it reads.

"Secretary Rubio has also now notified Congress that a review of USAID’s foreign assistance activities is underway with an eye towards potential reorganization."

Phil McCausland
Reporting from New York

We've just heard from the group of Democrats who attempted to enter the USAID building in Washington to gather more information about the Trump istration's alleged effort to dismantle the US aid agency.

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who seems to be leading the group, said that the lawmakers entered the building "on behalf of the American people" in an effort to gather answers.

Van Hollen claims they were "denied entry" based on an order by Elon Musk and his Doge representatives.

"This was an illegal power grab by someone who donated $275m to Trump’s campaign," Van Hollen claims.

The group said they were also referred to the State Department, which the Trump istration reportedly plans to take over the USAID agency. Democrats claim such a move would be illegal because only an act of Congress would allow for such a change.

Image source, Getty Images

While it is clear the White House wields significant influence over USAID, that power is theoretically limited.

USAID came into being after Congress ed the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961. That law mandated for a government agency to be set up and tasked with istering overseas spending.

Shortly after, then-President John F Kennedy set up USAID using an executive order. Another law was ed in 1998 which confirmed USAID's status as an executive agency in its own right.

In short, that means Trump cannot necessarily simply abolish USAID by g an executive order, and any attempt to do so would almost certainly face strong challenges in the courts and Congress.

Closing USAID altogether would likely require an act of Congress - where Trump's Republican Party holds slim majorities in both chambers.

One of the options reportedly being considered by the Trump istration is effectively making USAID a branch of the State Department, as opposed to it being a government agency in its own right.

A USAID staffer has described the chaos at the agency last week after she said of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) - which is not an official government department - turned up at the office last week and fired a number of people.

Speaking to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, Kristina Drye said: "Monday, I watched some people get fired, and I thought it was just them, and it turned out it was 60 senior people for USAID and like, I watched it happen".

"That was just absolutely heart-breaking, people who have given decades of their work to this".

She described how she and her colleagues acted quickly to take down certain objects they thought could make them a target.

"We took down our pride flags. We took down – I took out any books I felt would be incriminating. No-one was talking. We heard they started taking transcripts automatically of all of our Google meets."

Drye said she lost access to her computer and hasn't been able to access any of the systems since Saturday.

Much of USAID's work on hold with future of agency uncertainpublished at 19:43 Greenwich Mean Time 3 February

19:43 GMT 3 February

Tom Bateman
State Department correspondent

This is fast becoming a defining moment in the history of international development assistance, with the world’s biggest aid donor in the midst of a critical showdown over its operations and future.

The decision to shut out USAID staff from their offices and potentially merge the agency’s functions into the State Department follows a fortnight of rapidly escalating pressure from the White House and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficient (Doge) - an advisory board that is not an official government department.

USAID was created by President John F Kennedy in 1961 and spends up to $70bn (£56bn) per year across 120 countries.

It was the subject of an inauguration day executive order from President Trump which suspended new grant allocations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a “stop work” order to all current foreign assistance, barring emergency food provision, pending a 90 review over its consistency with Trump’s “America First” foreign policy.

I reported how that sent the global aid community into turmoil, shuttering many programmes, unleashing chaos and confusion among global aid contractors, and seeing the US’s global famine early warning system taken offline.

Meanwhile, dozens of senior USAID staff were put on istrative leave. A fierce row erupted over Musk’s government-inspection teams reportedly being denied and then granted access to classified material within USAID.

The billionaire X and SpaceX owner has called the agency “evil”, and "a viper's nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America”.

Democrats in Congress are now mobilising to try to save it. Meanwhile, much of USAID’s work - from water sanitation projects to vaccination programmes - remain on hold around the world.

We've just covered what USAID does, so let's now look back at the events leading up to today.

• 20 January: Newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump signs an executive order pausing almost all international spending for 90 days while a review is carried out
• 24 January: The US State Department issues a memo halting the vast majority of aid work being done on the ground, but waivers are later issued for humanitarian programmes

1-2 February: Tensions ramp up

• USAID's website goes offline and its X appears to be deactivated
• Staff working for billionaire Elon Musk - who Trump tasked with identifying spending cuts in the federal budget - are reportedly denied access to secure financial data at USAID's headquarters in Washington DC
• USAID director for security John Vorhees and deputy Director for Security Brian McGill, are both placed on istrative leave, BBC's US partner CBS News reports

3 February: Things come to a head

• Musk - who is not an elected government official - says on X that USAID will be shut down. He says he has discussed it with Trump
• The Trump istration then reportedly says it is planning to merge the agency with the US Department of State

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio accuses USAID's leadership of "insubordination" and says he is now its acting head

• Democrats hold a press conference outside USAID offices in Washington, calling it an "illegal, unconstitutional" move to close the agency. They criticise Musk's influence in the Trump istration

This story has been rapidly evolving as politicians weigh in on the situation, so let's take a step back and look at some of the key themes we've been covering. First up, what even is USAID?

The US is the world's biggest spender on international development by considerable margins and a bulk of that funding comes from USAID.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the US government's main overseas aid agency. It spends billions of dollars on international aid per year - roughly $68bn (£55bn) in 2023.

The vast majority of that money is spent in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe (primarily on humanitarian efforts in Ukraine).

The agency, set up in the early 1960s to ister humanitarian aid programmes on behalf of the US government globally, employs about 10,000 people.

It has bases in more than 60 countries and works in dozens of others.

• READ MORE: What is USAID and why is Trump reportedly poised to close it?, external

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Getty Images

A short while ago, we heard from President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, where he signed an Executive Order directing US officials to begin taking steps to create a sovereign wealth fund.

He briefly touched upon the controversy regarding Elon Musk and DOGE, as well as on the future of USAID - which he described as fraudulent and claimed it is run by "lunatics".

"They went totally crazy," he said. "They were giving [money] to people that shouldn't getting it, and to agencies and others that shouldn't be getting it. They're a tremendous fraud, but we'll be doing a report."

He did say, however, that he "loves" the concept of USAID.

"The concept of it is good, but it's all about the people," he added.

With regards to Musk and DOGE, Trump said that Musk "can't do and won't do anything without our approval".

"And we'll give him the approval, where appropriate," Trump added. "Where not appropriate we won't, but he reports in."

We just heard from several Democratic Party lawmakers, who are strongly opposed to the recent actions taken against USAID by the Trump istrations. So let's take a look at what Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said about the situation.

Speaking to the media while on a trip to El Salvador, Rubio claimed USAID is a "completely unresponsive agency".

He said that "lots of functions" of the organisation will continue and that "it has to be aligned with American foreign policy".

"I said very clearly during my confirmation hearing, that every dollar we spend and every programme we fund will be aligned with the national interest of the United States. And USAID has a history of sort of ignoring that," Rubio said.

Rubio said he was now the acting director of USAID.

• For context: US President Donald Trump and one of his top advisers, billionaire Elon Musk, have been strongly critical of USAID and are reportedly considering abolishing it or overhauling how it operates.Such a move could have a profound impact on humanitarian programmes around the world.
• READ MORE: What is USAID and why is Trump reportedly poised to close it?