Whistleblower Alleges USAID Dismantled to Satisfy Elon Musk’s Ego, Warning of Millions of Deaths

In a recent interview with FRANCE 24, Nicolas Enrich, a former senior USAID official turned whistleblower, claimed that the U.S. agency was dismantled not to reduce government waste, but “to soothe the ego of the world’s richest man,” referring to DOGE head Elon Musk. Enrich warned that the shutdown, which he characterized as “illegal,” could result in up to 14 million deaths over the next five years.

Enrich, who served as the director of policy in USAID’s Bureau for Global Health before being ousted for publishing an internal memo, asserted that the DOGE team lacked a fundamental understanding of the agency’s operations. He recalled a briefing with the newly appointed chief of staff, who reportedly admitted, “Wow, I had no idea that you did all this. I assumed it was just, you know, abortions.”

According to Enrich, the dissolution of the agency was not an exercise in efficiency, but rather a move designed to flatter Musk.

Enrich further contested claims made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that no deaths had occurred as a result of the closure. Enrich called this assertion “flatly untrue,” estimating that at least 750,000 people have already suffered unnecessary deaths due to the cuts.

He cited the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a prime example of the loss of institutional capacity, noting that while a USAID team could have deployed within 24 to 48 hours, the US State Department is now “struggling to improvise.”

Enrich concluded that the shutdown was an illegal act that violated existing laws, court orders, and the explicit intent of Congress.

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