Elon Musk’s Freeze on USAID Funding: Either He is Stupid or He is Evil

Elon Musk is the wealthiest person the world has ever known. He is also the czar of the newly invented Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He was appointed by President Trump, but he was not elected. He was not ratified by the U.S. Senate. Musk has “Special Government Employee” status. With the goal of improving governmental efficiency, Musk has made many controversial decisions (like firing thousands of government employees). In this post, I will limit myself to comments on Musk and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID was created in 1961 and “works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential”. With its annual budget of $40 billion, it provides humanitarian aid in over 100 countries, primarily through its support of well-respected, smaller NGOs like World Relief, Samaritan’s Purse, Catholic Charities, etc. During his first presidency, Trump praised USAID, and his daughter Ivanka was one of its most vocal advocates. Now, allleging that there is massive fraud and waste (without providing a shred of evidence), Musk ordered a freeze on most of USAID spending by directing all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts to immediately issue “stop-work” orders for existing foreign assistance awards. There is an exemption for “life-saving humanitarian assistance”, but hardly any NGO has been given this exemption.* Although Musk claims the stop-work order is merely temporary, pending future review, the damage inflicted upon people victimized by war, starvation and illness is immediate and long-lasting.

There are two main ways to evaluate Musk’s order to dismantle USAID. Either he did not calculate the immense human costs inflicted by his funding freeze, and he is stupid, or he knowingly knew the cruel impacts of his order and he is evil. I don’t believe Musk is stupid. To make as much money as he has acquired, he has had to be quite astute. He has predicted quite well the consequences of his economic decisions over the years. He knew that his freeze on USAID funding would lead to serious harm for millions of people.

1. Musk knew that 4.6 million displaced people in eastern Congo would see a sharp reduction in food, potable water, emergency housing, and health care.
2. Musk knew that 12 hospitals in Syria would close and daily medical consultations would plunge from 5000 to 500.
3. Musk knew that $400,000,000 would be slashed from shelters in Ukraine for those who have become victims fleeing Russia’s bombing of civilian neighborhoods of major cities…
4. Musk knew that 600,000 people in civil war-torn Sudan would become at risk of becoming infected with cholera.
5. Musk knew that thousands of thoroughly vetted refugees in the United States would no longer have the needed housing and food due them during their ninety-day transition period.
6. Musk knew that efficient humanitarian agencies like World Relief, Catholic Charities, Meals on Wheels, etc., would see their services reduced or eliminated due to the freeze on funding.
7. Musk knew that at least 10,000 – 50,000 people would die this year due to starvation, untreated illnesses, or exposure caused by his funding freeze.
8. Musk knew that billions of dollars would not be paid to U.S. farmers for crops and meat destined for hungry people around the globe through humanitarian agencies associated with USAID. This food has already been ordered and much of it is now sitting in ports around the world and beginning to rot.

If Musk is not stupid, the only other alternative is that he is evil. I don’t use the word “evil” lightly. I use it because the Bible uses it when it refers to greed. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith” (I Timothy 6:10). James affirmed that it is the rich who oppress others, especially the poor (James 2:6). Jesus Himself was just as explicit: “Woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full” (Luke 6:24),

I admit that these passages are generalizations. There are exceptions to the general rule, like Job in the Hebrew Scriptures. Musk might be an exception to this description of evil, but he needs to prove it by his actions.

Footnote

• Samaritan’s Purse is an evangelical humanitarian aid agency which receives USAID. It is led by Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham. I have not heard of even a rumor of fraud or corruption in Samaritan’s Purse and its use of funds. It is one of the very few NGOs that has already acquired the exemption waiver. It is well known that Franklin Graham publicly supported Trump. He urged Christians to “hold their nose” and vote for Trump in spite of his sub-Christian policies and personal failures. If this exemption if a quid pro quo agreement between Graham and Trump, shame on both of them.