By Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is ending the work of a U.S. aid agency launched by Republican former President George W. Bush to reduce poverty and promote economic growth around the world, according to a recording of a staff meeting and an email to staff seen by Reuters.
The move to shut down the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) comes as part of an unprecedented push by President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Musk to shrink the federal government, saying U.S. taxpayer money is misspent.
MCC staff were told in a meeting on Wednesday that all of the agency’s programs will be closed and staff numbers would be minimized, according to a recording of the meeting.
“Foreign aid is not a priority for the administration and so MCC’s work needs to wind down,” Kyeh Kim, a senior MCC official, told staff.
Officials from DOGE arrived at the agency early last week and entered talks with leadership, who were attempting to save the agency, Kim said.
The MCC did not respond to an email requesting comment.
Trump’s administration has already dismantled Washington’s main aid agency, USAID, which administered about $40 billion in aid annually.
The MCC, which was created by the U.S. Congress with support from Republicans and Democrats in 2004, has an annual budget of about $900 million. It partners with developing countries on projects like improving electricity supply for businesses and improving roads for farmers to get their goods to market, according to its website.
An MCC employee told Reuters all the agency’s work had been ordered halted apart from a small number of active construction projects, including a wastewater treatment plant in Mongolia, electrical power grids in Senegal and Nepal, and schools in Ivory Coast.
“This is very much a business- and infrastructure-focused way of doing development. It’s very much in America’s interest,” said the employee, who requested anonymity.
Politico first reported the move, citing an email sent to staff at the agency on Tuesday, which Reuters has also reviewed. The email gives the agency’s 300 or so staff until April 29 to decide whether to take voluntary early retirement or a deferred resignation under which they will receive pay until the end of September, or face being placed on administrative leave.
“I would encourage you to think very hard of what makes sense for you and your family at this time, and that is more important than your commitment to this organization,” Kim said in the meeting on Wednesday, warning that the organization’s future “looks very stark.”
(Reporting by Simon Lewis; editing by Diane Craft)
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