Bill Gates Defends USAID’s ‘Strategic Value’ In Criticism Of Elon Musk’s Sweeping Cuts
Bill Gates, billionaire philanthropist, defended the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and doubled down on his criticism of Elon Musk’s political stance and efforts to dismantle the agency.
Musk, leading President Donald Trump’s federal cost-cutting initiative, targeted USAID, resulting in office closures over the weekend and leaving up to a thousand contractors laid off or furloughed.
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, Gates was asked about Musk’s actions and his branding of USAID as “evil” and a “criminal organization.”
Gates, whose foundation is one of the largest in the world, shot back by highlighting the agency’s life-saving work.
“USAID plays a super important role… it’s work that saves millions of lives and helps strengthen relationships for the United States,” Gates said.
He elaborated: “There were 48 hours where drug disbursement was shut down, and then that was reversed. And now the challenge is that the employees who manage that work aren’t being let into the office. So we’re a bit up in the air. When I saw President Trump just after Christmas, I emphasized the value of these HIV programs, the fact that I support them, and that we work hard to ensure the money is well spent. That was a strong message I gave him. I’m hopeful he’ll see both the moral and strategic value in keeping this strong.”
Cooper then pressed Gates about the future of PEPFAR, the HIV relief program launched under former President George W. Bush, which is also under threat.
“There were 48 hours where drug disbursement was shut down, and then that was reversed,” Gates reiterated.
When asked what would happen if PEPFAR were shut down, Gates warned: “You’d have up to 10 million deaths if it was stopped abruptly. I thought the argument would be about whether we could cut it by 10 percent over the next several years. And, look, there’s a lot of demands on the budget.”
Cooper then brought up Gates’ previous comments in the Financial Times, where he criticized Musk’s recent “populist stirring” as “insane shit.” While acknowledging Musk’s intelligence, Gates maintained his critique.
“Just the idea of him supporting very right-wing parties—I’m surprised by that,” Gates said. “I’m very careful to say Elon’s super smart. His private-sector work is fantastic. But I’m surprised by the number of things he voices opinions on. I’ve always had friends around me who make sure I don’t spout off on too many things at the same time.”
Gates concluded by addressing Musk’s broader push for government cuts: “The basic idea that we should review almost every department and that if you were really smart about using technology or updating the goals, you could save 10% here, 10% there—which adds up to a lot—I don’t think that’s a mistake. But going in very quickly and saying that all these people run a criminal organization—that’s not quite as subtle as you’d hope to see.”
Watch the full interview via CNN.
