Waltz defends USAID funding freeze, Musk influence

President Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz defended the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding freeze and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s influence over the federal government.

Waltz joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, where host Kristen Welker asked him about the recent cuts to USAID, as the international aid agency has been essentially shuttered as Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) takes over several departments to make cuts.

“All too often, these missions and these programs, number one, are not in line with strategic U.S. interests, like pushing back on China,” Waltz said. “They’re doing all kinds of other things that, frankly, aren’t in line with strategic interests or the president’s vision.”

“Number two, often, all too often, only cents on the dollar actually makes it to people in need, between the big contractors, the subcontractors, the local contractors, the dollars aren’t being used wisely,” he continued.

USAID has been essentially shut down, and foreign aid has been frozen in the last week. Officials at DOGE have also gained access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system, resulting in a lawsuit and an outpour of concern from Democrats.

Waltz, who previously served in the House, argued that the USAID budget had become “incredibly bloated” and defended the country’s international standing even without the foreign aid.

He also pointed to Musk’s influence at the Department of Defense and said he knows that the department spends too much and doesn’t do enough.

“The American people have said enough with the bloat and the waste and the debt, and when we have a trillion dollars of interest in our debt that’s exceeded our entire defense budget, we do need great minds and we do need business leaders to go in there an absolutely reform the Pentagon’s acquisition process,” Waltz said.

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