Liz Cheney knocks Musk on citizenship in defense of USAID work

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) slammed tech billionaire Elon Musk over his citizenship while attempting to defend the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) amid the Trump administration's perceived efforts to gut the agency.

A user on social platform X pointed out that Cheney — also a former USAID employee — was “spawned” out of the agency. The Wyoming Republican became a top enemy and vocal critic of President Trump after serving on the House select committee investigation the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Musk replied to the post, saying “interesting.”

Cheney then responded to Musk, calling his citizenship into question.

“Damn right, @Elon. I’m proud of what America did to win the Cold War, defeat Soviet communism, and defend democracy,” Cheney said. “Our nation stood for freedom. You may be unfamiliar with that part of our history since you weren’t yet an American citizen.”

Musk was born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa. He is an advocate for the U.S. guest worker visa program, which helped him come to the country. The SpaceX and Tesla owner arrived for a graduate degree in 1995 at Stanford University but never enrolled in courses and instead worked on his start-up company.

Musk has been facing increased scrutiny from Democrats as his “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) infiltrates and examines spending at various federal agencies.

USAID has essentially been shut down and foreign aid has been frozen in recent days and DOGE officials have gained access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system, which has resulted in a lawsuit.

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