Lots of exciting things are happening in the governmental sector recently. President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order that established USAID in 1961. The agency is responsible for handling U. S. foreign assistance, with a big focus on charities and foreign aid. In fact, for the fiscal year of 2023, they had a budget of approximately "40 ""billion"And its budget totals of $1, , 700, 000, 000, 000  respectively which ensures the agency was running smoothly.

    This agency is very important for a lot of reasons this is because Congress approves the funding for USAID to manage its huge budget each year.  USAID was considered a key player in distributing foreign aid and managing international charities. However some people believe things should be shake up.

     In a very recent turn of events, there is talk of shutting down this agency. In one of his recent statements Elon Musk, who is in charge of a special initiative to make the government more efficient, publicly announced that he and the president are planning to shut down the agency. . This announcement has stirred up quite a bit of controversy. The big question now is whether this can actually be done legally. The Constitution gives Congress the power to manage how money is spent, so shutting down an agency like this without their approval could be a big legal issue that would likely lead to further debates and disagreements. This could possibly lead to very worrisome times. What makes this even more complicated is that no one knows exactly what legal authority this administration has to shut down a federal agency without congressional approval.

    USAID's role has been controversial for a while. Trump previously criticized the agency, calling it "a bunch of radical lunatics, " though he didn't go as far as Musk and say that he would shut it down. It has previously been proposed that the agency be taken over by the State Department, which has raised concerns, since it is against the law. Let's put this into perspective as this step was taken by Trump and would be very unprecedented.  USAID currently does not have its permanent director as the previous director was placed on leave.  With the recent development, the State Department would no longer be assuming the budget and management of foreign aid, it would be a risk moving forward with such a plan.

    On the weekend before the announcement, USAID employees faced a strange situation. Career civil servants noticed workers from Musks department trying to join in on secure systems.  They had to put them on administrative leave. The part they were not sure about was if the department employees were able to secure information needed. The insane thing is all of the chaos has yet to be faced.

    The budget of USAID for 2023 is vast, its  nearly "40 ""billion" Which was a giant leap from the previous years. With such a massive budget, the agency has a lot of resources to work with. This meant that USAID was able to establish partnerships with many other organizations to provide aid. The agency previously had a big partnership with one of Musk's companies, SpaceX. This was done to provide 5, 000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine's government. This must have showed his support to the country in their fight against Russia. . The whole thing was a big success.

    Following the announcement, Musk's thoughts on the agency took some stark turns. He publicly stated that "USAID is beyond repair". He also reportedly shared that the weekend was "an ordeal". He shared that it was his preferred choice to spend his time taking apart the organization, rather than socializing. .

    Not everyone seems to agree with Musk's view. Sen. Joni Ernst even commented on Musk's statements. The senator did agree and mentioned that it's not clear how many others in Congress might hold the same opinion, especially within Republican circles. She probably has concerns since they really raised the total budget from previous years. Taking into account the sheer size of the budget, it makes the decision a lot more complicated

    Right before the announcement, Musk hosted an hour-long event on X. With more updates and changes on the way, some members of the government are heavily opposed to the plan. One issue that seems to be causing major legal concern is the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. This act usually makes it so the president cannot withhold funds that Congress has approved and it looks like everyone is going to have to deal with the consequences of this decision.

    It remains to be seen how the government will come to terms with the potential shutting down of such a key agency or even the proposal of halting funds allocated to it. There are many laws and regulations being challenged which could lead to unpredictable results.

    Many issues have come forward since he was assigned the position. This is a vast leap and a big step forward as Musk made his intentions clear.  There are fears we might see something like this again.

Government Shakeup: Big Changes to a Key Agency

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