Omar slams Trump, Musk for changes at USAID, accuses president of running dictatorship

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., slammed President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Monday for their efforts to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), while also accusing the president of starting a dictatorship.

Omar and several other Democratic lawmakers spoke outside the USAID building in Washington, D.C., damning the efforts made by Trump and Musk to take control of independent agencies like USAID and strip them down to cut away wasteful spending.

“It is a really, really sad day in America. We are witnessing a constitutional crisis,” Omar said. “We talked about Trump wanting to be a dictator on day one. And here we are. This is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like when you gut the Constitution, and you install yourself as the sole power. That is how dictators are made.”

She continued, saying Trump, Musk and their “cronies” are attempting to take away Congress’ constitutional power of deciding where money is allocated.

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Fifty senior USAID staff have been placed on administrative leave, sources told Fox News over the weekend. Staff have also been barred from communicating with anyone outside the agency without approval.

Omar said she was “exceptionally upset” about USAID, explaining she lived in a refugee camp as a child for four years, and in that camp, USAID provided programs that kept her and her family fed and safe.

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“Privileged billionaires who don’t give a damn about America and Americans should not be making decisions that put Americans at harm,” she said. “And a billionaire that hasn’t been vetted has not gone through confirmation, has not been elected by the American people who we still do not understand what in the world he’s doing should not be telling American employees that they cannot access the building they work at.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., also weighed in on the matter, telling Musk he did not create USAID, but Congress did.

“Just like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn’t have the power to destroy it. And who’s going to stop him? We are!” Raskin said. “We’re going to stop him. Elon Musk, you may have illegally seized power over the financial payment systems of the United States Department of Treasury, but you don’t control the money of the American people. The United States Congress does that under Article One of the Constitution.”

As the lawmakers spoke from outside the USAID building, Musk fired back at them on social media.

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“The corrupt politicians ‘protesting’ outside the USAID building are the ones getting money from USAID,” Musk wrote on X. “That’s why they’re there – they want your stolen tax dollars!”

While lawmakers on the left side of the aisle are shouting in opposition to the changes being made at the agency, GOP hardliners are in favor of what they say are much-needed modifications.

USAID is an independent agency in the federal government that provides civilian foreign aid to help encourage development, fight poverty and disease and promote democracy overseas.

However, conservatives argue that the agency has strayed from its intended purpose and have called for steep cuts to its multi-billion-dollar budget.

For instance, the White House claims $1.5 million was sent to USAID to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities,” while another $2 million was sent to Guatemala for sex changes and “LGBT activism.”

The White House also says $6 million was used to fund tourism in Egypt, and hundreds of thousands of meals were sent to al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria.

“USAID is a corrupt governmental organization run by unelected bureaucrats created to shovel taxpayer dollars to Democrats’ pet projects overseas,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital.

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“At nearly $37 trillion in national debt – and a $1.8 trillion annual deficit – we can’t afford to continue giving money to countries that hate America and everything we stand for,” he said.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that shutting down USAID “will help reduce our national debt and relieve the burden on taxpayers, while compelling aid-dependent countries to achieve true self-reliance, snapping them out of the dependency cycle USAID has perpetuated under the false banner of ‘development.’”

The U.S. State Department posted on X that USAID has “long strayed” from its mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad, adding that it is now clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with national interests.

“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 Administrator,” a statement from the State Department read on X. “Secretary Rubio has also now notified Congress that a review of USAID’s foreign assistance activities is underway with an eye towards potential reorganization. As we evaluate USAID and ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda and the efforts of the State Department, we will continue to protect the American people’s interests and ensure their tax dollars are not wasted.”

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.