ELON MUSK AND STATE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES TO BE QUESTIONED OVER DOGE’S ROLE IN DISMANTLING USAID . (PHOTO).

 Elon Musk and State Department employees to be questioned over DOGE’s role in dismantling USAID 

A federal judge has ordered Elon Musk and State Department officials to sit for depositions over their involvement in dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development. The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought by anonymous USAID employees who claim officials from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency acted unlawfully in efforts to weaken the agency.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang wrote that depositions were necessary because plaintiffs were unable to obtain key information through documents or lower-level officials, whose deposition requests went unanswered. The judge also noted previous findings that Musk made decisions affecting USAID despite lacking formal authority or official approval. USAID, which previously employed about 10,000 staff members, managed roughly $43 billion in aid in fiscal year 2023 and assisted around 130 countries with disaster relief and economic development. Studies indicate that the agency’s programs have prevented an estimated 91 million deaths over the past two decades, including 30 million children, and experts warn that dismantling its operations could contribute to more than 14 million deaths by 2030, a third of them children under five.

Musk had previously described the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts as only “somewhat successful” and said he would not take on a similar project again. Representatives for Musk, the State Department, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.