The dangers posed by cuts to U.S. foreign aid

You've no doubt heard by now that Elon Musk has been tasked with slashing the federal budget. His symbolic weapon of choice: a very large chainsaw.  An early target: The U.S. Agency for International Development (or USAID). Charging waste, fraud and abuse at the agency, the world's richest man is leading a campaign that will cut assistance to some of the world's poorest people. "USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die," Musk wrote on X. 

That theme comes from the top. On February 11, President Trump said, "The USAID is really corrupt, I'll tell you. It's corrupt. It's incompetent and it's really corrupt."

And White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt provides the harmony, telling reporters on February 3, "I don't know about you, but as an American taxpayer, I don't want my dollars going towards this crap."