As Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues his illegal and unconstitutional takeover of the U.S. federal government, he’s taken a special interest in destroying the United States Agency for International Development, Reuters reports. Cutting off foreign aid that specifically saves lives and improves health outcomes around the world may seem like the kind of thing that’s going to get people killed, but nevertheless, Musk says he’s “feeding USAID into the wood chipper.” As a result, at least 300 babies that wouldn’t have had HIV now do, Wired reports.
Trump supporters will tell you that he later made an exception for lifesaving work, which is technically true. It’s also technically true that I played quarterback in high school. In reality, I only took one snap in a C-team game and shouldn’t actually say I was a high school quarterback, and USAID workers say they’re still being blocked from continuing important work to fight HIV/AIDS.
“At a minimum, 300 babies that wouldn’t have had HIV, now do,” one current anonymous USAID worker told Wired.
In total, Wired spoke to eight current and former USAID employees and contractors but chose to keep them anonymous because workers were afraid of retaliation and weren’t officially authorized to speak publicly. And when the likely retaliation would come from the unhinged lunatic duo that is Donald Trump and his boss Elon, that’s probably a very good idea. As for USAID’s official spokesperson, they reportedly did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“Your money is being unfrozen but you can’t contact the people who actually froze it,” one senior source at an HIV/AIDS organization told Wired. “There’s a bigger communication blockage that is frustrating even the efforts put in place to free up the lifesaving work.”
The electric car company CEO’s war against USAID, an organization with an annual budget that doesn’t even account for 1 percent of federal spending, doesn’t include simply making sure more babies get HIV, although, as Wired reports, that’s the undeniable result of Musk’s actions:
Large numbers of USAID employees have been placed on administrative leave or locked out of their emails and work servers in recent days, including those working on a variety of what they say are critical public health missions. USAID staffers say this demonstrates that the emergency waiver application process is ineffective and isn’t ensuring that aid workers can continue serving vulnerable populations.
USAID staff who still have access to their email accounts received a notice on Monday evening from Ken Jackson, the agency’s assistant to the administrator for management and resources, saying that the agency “would likely undergo a reorganization” and be integrated into the State Department. “As we evaluate USAID and ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda, the President Trump Administration, and the efforts of the State Department, we will focus on ensuring every agency dollar is delivering targeted and results-driven aid,” the email read.
In countries like Zambia, Nigeria, Haiti, and Mozambique, medical equipment ranging from antiretroviral drugs for treating HIV to pre-exposure prophylaxis and condoms that can prevent transmission of the disease are currently sitting in limbo, according to the same USAID worker who warned of a drastic uptick in the number of children living with HIV. The aid is unable to reach its destinations because the USAID workers tasked with logistics have been placed on administrative leave.
“When a baby is born, you do an early infant diagnostic test, and if it comes back positive, you can blitz them with retrovirals, but you can’t do that if you don’t have retrovirals,” the same USAID worker says. “It’s an absolute disaster.”
As for why a white guy whose family moved to South Africa about the time apartheid began and left not long before it ended might have a vendetta against USAID, which did a lot of important work to help the victims of apartheid and ultimately bring down the racist system, no one can say. Some have speculated that it might have something to do with USAID exercising oversight over Starlink in Ukraine.
In the early days when I only upset weird Tesla nerds by pointing out Tesla’s poor build quality, reliability issues and long repair times, I never imagined that one day, I’d be writing that Elon Musk’s actions are responsible for at least 300 babies having HIV. Fast forward to 2025, though, and here we are.
If Democratic leadership was actually doing anything to stand up to this wildly illegal and unconstitutional power grab, maybe we could at least feel a little more optimistic. Since they’re busy posting about the price of groceries and insisting someone else do something, though, we’re just left with the fact that Musk and Trump are currently free to do pretty much anything they want, and an unimaginable number of lives are going to be ruined in the process. And if that sounds really fucking depressing, yeah, it is.
Anyway, here’s a video of puppies to temporarily distract you from the horrors: