Recently confirmed US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has slammed the US Agency for International Development (USAID), created by his uncle, 35th US President John F. Kennedy, as a "sinister propagator of totalitarianism and war."
"My uncle started the USAID in 1961 for humanitarian purposes, to put our country on the [other] side of war. It has been captured by the military-industrial complex. It has become a sinister propagator of totalitarianism and war across the globe. Very few people understand how sinister this agency really is, and [US] President [Donald] Trump saw that," Kennedy said at his swearing-in ceremony on Thursday.
In early February, the president appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting head of USAID. Rubio then notified Congress that a review of USAID's foreign assistance activities was underway, with an eye toward a potential reorganization.
US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who leads the DOGE, has said that Trump agreed to shut down USAID. Musk also referred to the agency as a "criminal organization" that "needs to die." USAID employees worldwide have been put on administrative leave.