"Make no mistake, this effort by Elon Musk and so-called DOGE to shut down the United States Agency for International Development is an absolute gift to our adversaries, to Russia, to China, to Iran and others, because USAID is an essential instrument of U.S. foreign policy and U.S. national security policy," Van Hollen said.

Among its various international efforts, USAID works to strengthen global supply chains and promote access to essential medicines.

The Agency for International Development supports a wide range of programs in countries around the world, from disaster relief to public health, but Musk said it was “time” for USAID to “die.”

America's top diplomat Marco Rubio says he is now the acting head of the agency that distributes billions of dollars in aid around the world.

Employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were informed on Monday that their headquarters in downtown Washington was shut for the day, hours after billionaire Elon Musk said President Donald Trump agreed that Washington's primary humanitarian agency should be closed.