人道支援本部閉鎖、米民主党がマスク氏を非難

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ドナルド・トランプ米政権で政府効率化省（ＤＯＧＥ）を率いる実業家イーロン・マスク氏の采配の下、対外人道支援を管轄する国際開発庁（ＵＳＡＩＤ）の本部が３日、閉鎖された。民主党は「明らかに違法」だなどと強く非難している。（写真は、米ワシントンの国際開発庁〈ＵＳＡＩＤ〉本部前で抗議する人々）
　ＵＳＡＩＤのウェブサイトは先週末に停止し、職員はワシントンの庁舎への立ち入りが禁止された。
　マルコ・ルビオ国務長官は同日の声明で、ＵＳＡＩＤを自身の管理下に置くと発表。ＵＳＡＩＤは「米国の利益を海外で責任を持って推進するという本来の使命から長らく逸脱している」とし、組織再編の可能性を含め、活動の見直しに着手すると述べた。
　だが、ＡＢＣニュースによると、約６００人の職員がコンピューターシステムにアクセスできなくなるなど、広範な混乱が生じている。
　一部の民主党議員は「ＵＳＡＩＤを救え、命を救え」と書かれた横断幕を持った約５０人のデモ隊と共にＵＳＡＩＤ本部ロビーへ立ち入ろうとしたが、警察に阻止された。
　議員らは、選挙で選ばれていない大富豪のマスク氏にトランプ氏が政策の権限を委ねたことのほか、マスク氏には政府の主要な契約業者として明白な利益相反があることなどについて、非難の声を上げている。
　ジェリー・コノリー民主党議員（バージニア州選出）は、マスク氏は議会によって設立された組織を閉鎖する法的権利を持たないと強く批判。「これは法律の問題であり、議会が対処すべき問題だ。選挙で選ばれていない億万長者のイーロン・マスクが扱う問題ではない」「ＵＳＡＩＤを運営したいなら、トランプの指名を受けて上院に行け。承認を受けるのは難しいと思うが」と述べた。
　■「権力の乱用」
　米国の対外援助機関として、最貧国を含む世界約１２０か国で保健衛生や緊急プログラムに資金を提供しているＵＳＡＩＤは、中国を含むライバル国との対外影響力争いにおいて、米国のソフトパワーを体現する重要な主体と見なされている。
　一方、マスク氏は中国に広範なビジネス上の利益を有している。
　トランプ氏はホワイトハウスで記者団に対し、マスク氏は「われわれの承認なしに何もできないし、何もしない」としながら、同氏と見解を共有すると明言。ＵＳＡＩＤの閉鎖には議会の承認が必要だと思うかと尋ねられると、「そうは思わない。不正に関してはそうは思わない。やつらは狂っている」と答え、具体的な説明や詳細を一切示さないまま、２日連続でＵＳＡＩＤを「不正」呼ばわりした。
　クリス・バン・ホーレン民主党上院議員（メリーランド州選出）は、マスク氏の計画について「腐敗した権力の乱用」「われわれの敵への贈り物」であり、「明らかに違法」だと糾弾。「イーロン・マスクは（電気自動車大手）テスラの独裁者にはなれても、ワシントンで独裁者になろうとするのは無理だ。ＵＳＡＩＤを閉鎖する権利はない」と語った。
　予算権限は議会にあるが、マスク氏は自らが率いるＤＯＧＥが資金の使途を決定できると主張している。
　ＵＳＡＩＤの閉鎖を歓迎する一人が、ロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン大統領の盟友であるドミトリー・メドベージェフ元大統領だ。メドベージェフ氏はＸ（旧ツイッター）でマスク氏に触れ、「＠ｅｌｏｎｍｕｓｋによる賢明な動きだ。ＵＳＡＩＤによる『ディープスロート（対外情報収集・提供）』を封じようとしている」と投稿した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/02/04-16:57）

The US government's giant humanitarian agency closed its headquarters to staff Monday amid moves by Elon Musk, the world's richest person and President Donald Trump's controversial aide, to seize control in actions decried by critics as plain illegal.
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 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 reorganization.
But there was widespread confusion, as some 600 staffers found themselves locked out of their computer systems, ABC News reported.
Democrats were denied entry to the public lobby of the agency's headquarters by police blocking the doors as they joined around 50 demonstrators brandishing banners demanding: Save USAID, save lives.
They blasted Trump for handing administration policy to an unelected tycoon who has undergone no background checks or confirmation process and has glaring conflicts of interest as one the largest government contractors.
This is a brazen attempt by a billionaire who nobody voted for, to illegally and unconstitutionally steal from taxpayers so he can give himself a tax break, said Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern.
Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly angrily insisted that Musk had no legal right to shutter an organization created by an act of Congress.
It is a matter of statute. It's a matter for Congress to deal with, not an unelected billionaire oligarch named Elon Musk, he said. And Elon, if you want to run USAID, get nominated by Trump and go to the Senate. Good luck in getting confirmed.
- 'Abuse of power' -
The aid arm of US foreign policy, USAID funds health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, including the world's poorest regions.
It is seen as a vital source of soft power for the United States in its struggle for influence with rivals including China, where Musk has extensive business interests.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO called USAID a viper's nest of radical-left marxists who hate America and added that he had personally cleared the unprecedented move with the president.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Musk can't do and won't do anything without our approval -- but he also made it clear that he was on the same page as the South African-born billionaire.
Asked if he agreed that only an act of Congress could shutter USAID, he replied, I don't think so -- not when it comes to fraud... These people are lunatics.
It was the second day running that Trump had accused USAID of fraud, without offering any explanation or detail.
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen called Musk's plan a corrupt abuse of power and a gift to our adversaries that is plain illegal.
Elon Musk may get to be dictator of Tesla, and he may try to play dictator here in Washington DC, but he doesn't get to shut down the Agency for International Development, Van Hollen said.
Congress has authority over the US budget but Musk argues his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can decide how money is used.
- Personal data -
The pace and intensity of Musk's operation, which is using employees brought from his own companies, has caught opponents off guard.
In one especially tense episode, Musk's team insisted on gaining access to the Treasury's highly sensitive payment system, which is used for dispatching trillions of dollars a year and contains Americans' personal data.
The assault on USAID comes in the context of long-running narratives on the hard-line conservative and libertarian wings of the Republican Party that the United States wastes money on foreigners while ignoring Americans.
The agency describes itself as working to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity.
Its budget of more than $40 billion is a small drop in overall US government annual spending of nearly $7 trillion.
Among other criticisms, which Musk has not substantiated, he claims USAID does rogue CIA work and even funded bioweapon research, including Covid-19, that killed millions of people.
One person welcoming the apparent death knell for the aid agency was former Russian president -- and ally to current ruler Vladimir Putin -- Dmitry Medvedev.
Smart move by @elonmusk, trying to plug USAID's Deep Throat, Medvedev posted on X.