Elon Musk said he is feeding USAID thorugh the wood chipper. The federal agency provides disaster relief across the world and promotes democracy.

One China expert told Newsweek that the USAID funding freeze had handed an "enormous gift" to Beijing's push to influence the Global South. Meanwhile, one Kremlin propagandist has said on Russian television that Moscow could exploit the gap left by USAID and project geopolitical power with a similar program.