Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft and philanthropist, met with President Donald Trump at the White House to advocate for the continuation of foreign aid disbursements from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Gates emphasized the importance of maintaining valuable foreign aid programs and highlighted the impact of USAID’s operations around the world, calling it the best development agency. The Trump administration has targeted USAID for reforms, accusing it of wasteful spending and freezing foreign aid, which has resulted in almost all direct hires being placed on administrative leave.
Gates expressed concerns about replicating the impact of USAID and noted the difficulty in recreating the depth of experience and expertise of the agency’s staff. He also mentioned that he has not met with Elon Musk, who has been critical of USAID and has referred to it as a “criminal organization.” Gates highlighted the differences between the private sector, where Musk has been successful with Tesla and SpaceX, and the public sector, emphasizing the need for a more thoughtful approach to government reforms.
Although Gates did not disclose the details of his meeting with Trump and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, he expressed hope that they were receptive to his arguments in favor of preserving foreign aid programs. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the meetings, but Gates remains committed to advocating for the continuation of USAID’s valuable work in providing humanitarian aid to other countries.
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