Democrats blast Musk as USAID agency HQ shutters 1

WASHINGTON: The US government's giant humanitarian agency closed its headquarters to staff on Monday (Feb 3) amid moves by Elon Musk, the world's richest person and President Donald Trump's controversial aide, to shut down the agency.

Workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were told to stay out of its Washington office after its website went dark over the weekend, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing on Monday it would come under his control.

Rubio said in a statement the agency had "long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad" and that he was launching a review of its activities ahead of a "potential reorganisation".