Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Monday that he and President Donald Trump were in the process of shutting down the USAID, escalating their war on the federal bureaucracy.

Elon Musk called USAID a criminal organization that should “die.” Proponents say it’s a key arm of U.S. influence that, if destroyed, “cannot be easily rebuilt.”

By David Shepardson and Chris Sanders WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to shrink the federal government, gave an update on the effort early Monday,