A war of words between tech billionaire Elon Musk and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) has erupted into what could become a courtroom battle after the California congressman suggested Musk’s government spending cuts may have “possibly” condemned millions of children to death.
The explosive exchange began after Khanna appeared on the *I’ve Had It* podcast, where he criticized Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Trump administration initiative created to slash wasteful federal spending and shrink the size of government.
During the interview, Khanna accused Musk of dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), arguing the move could have devastating humanitarian consequences.
“They’re celebrating that he created 4,400 millionaires,” Khanna said, “but they don’t talk about the 4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID.”
The remark immediately drew a blistering response from Musk, who owns X and used the platform to threaten legal action against the Democratic congressman.
“Time to sue this liar,” Musk posted.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO didn’t stop there. He accused Khanna of spreading falsehoods while also alleging the congressman had benefited from insider stock trading, referring to him as “Ro the Robber” in a series of posts.
Musk has consistently defended DOGE’s sweeping budget cuts, arguing they were designed to eliminate fraud, abuse, and waste—not legitimate humanitarian assistance.
According to Musk, one of DOGE’s primary reforms required USAID recipients to provide basic contact information and documentation verifying taxpayer-funded aid was actually reaching intended beneficiaries.
“The standard applied by DOGE was very simple and easy,” Musk wrote. “Provide contact information for the recipients of aid, so that we can confirm it is not fraudulent.”
He also pointed to a Justice Department announcement detailing guilty pleas by a former USAID employee and several contractors in a bribery and fraud scheme, arguing the scandal underscored why stronger oversight was necessary.
“The reality is that money was being sent to corrupt politicians under the guise of aid,” Musk wrote. “Liars… should be in prison.”
Khanna, however, defended his criticism by citing a 2025 study that projected reductions in foreign aid funding could contribute to as many as 14 million deaths worldwide by 2030, including approximately 4.5 million children under five. The study modeled potential outcomes under scenarios involving major cuts to global health and humanitarian programs, though it did not directly attribute future deaths to any single individual or policy decision.
Supporters of USAID have long argued that the agency played a vital role in combating infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and polio while also providing disaster relief and emergency humanitarian assistance around the world.
The Trump administration, by contrast, maintained that USAID had drifted far from its original mission and had become bloated with politically driven spending that often had little to do with humanitarian relief.
Administration officials repeatedly highlighted examples they viewed as wasteful expenditures, including taxpayer-funded diversity initiatives and cultural projects overseas, arguing that billions of dollars were being spent with insufficient accountability.
DOGE’s review of the agency ultimately resulted in deep budget reductions and major staffing cuts before USAID was effectively dismantled in 2025 as part of the administration’s broader effort to reduce the size of the federal government.
Now, the latest clash between Musk and Khanna illustrates just how politically charged that decision remains. Whether Musk follows through on his threat to sue remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the debate over government spending, foreign aid, and taxpayer accountability is far from over—and neither side appears willing to back down.
