'Has No Idea What He's Doing': Seth Moulton Blasts Elon Musk Over USAID Cuts

8 hours ago

In an interview on "Forbes Newsroom," Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) spoke about cuts Elon Musk and DOGE have made to USAID and the real-life impacts that will have.

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Transcript

00:00Talks with you because I've talked to other of your colleagues about some of the impacts of Elon Musk's doge cuts

00:06Specifically to USAID and we're seeing that in this story. We're going to talk about today earlier this month over 80 female students from Afghanistan

00:14Faced what they've reportedly called a quote life-or-death situation after their scholarships scholarships to Sanya rod

00:20Which were funded by USAID were canceled and they would have to return to Afghanistan

00:25Your office is saying that the State Department extended their scholarships the brew June 30th, but obviously that's not a full extension

00:33What do you make of this situation to start off the conversation? Was it preventable?

00:37It's absolutely preventable. I mean Elon Musk has no idea what he's doing

00:42And obviously there's a lot of dissension between Musk and Rubio here because Rubio at least has

00:47Some idea of the impact that these programs have but the bottom line is that USAID saves lives

00:54USAID I saw on the ground in Iraq saving American lives when it was a huge tool that

01:01American troops like myself used to win over the Iraqi population

01:06So this is an incredibly important program for our national security. It's not just about doing good around the world

01:12Oh, there's a good argument for that as well. And in the case of these Afghan girls

01:16I mean, these are brave brave women truly brave

01:20revolting against these Taliban

01:23Masters who would have them be subservient in homes for the rest of their lives hiding under veils never to even have their faces be

01:30Seen they're actually pursuing an education something that American troops on the ground made possible

01:36And it could be a death sentence to have them sent back to Afghanistan

01:41Congressman you're a veteran you're in the four-country caucus, which is made up of other lawmakers

01:45Bipartisan group who are lawmakers who served in Iraq as well as Afghanistan

01:50You said that when you were in Iraq you saw USAID save lives firsthand

01:55So what's missing here from the conversation? What's missing here is accountability

01:59It's the Republican Congress just fulfilling its constitutional

02:03Responsibility to put a check on the executive because the rules of the Constitution are that Congress controls the purse

02:11So if institutions like USAID that Congress has funded are to be cut

02:16Congress has to vote Congress has to have a say and I know from talking to my Republican colleagues behind the scenes that they would

02:24Not support Elon Musk's taking a chainsaw to the United States government, but they're not standing up

02:30They're not putting a check on the administration

02:33Which is their responsibility to do and for all the rest of us in Congress who who don't have the power of the majority?

02:39You know, we don't control the speakership. We can't call votes ourselves

02:43It's

02:44Extraordinarily frustrating that we are not allowed to do our constitutional duty as well

02:50You mentioned earlier in the conversation that this also hosts some national security concerns. What are yours? I

02:57Have a long list of national security concerns with this administration

03:02Starting with the fact that they are cozying up to our biggest enemies around the globe being soft on China

03:09Being appeasing Vladimir Putin

03:12I mean you use literally using Kremlin talking points as they denounce our ally Ukraine

03:19Fighting for its freedom in the Oval Office. I mean, this is truly unprecedented and

03:24These Afghans that we are trying to rescue from the Taliban's draconian rule

03:29There are allies as well in many cases thousands of

03:35Afghan troops soldiers

03:37Translators who served alongside us brothers in arms and remember when

03:42Republicans were so quick to criticize the Biden administration for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan

03:48They used that same term brothers in arms

03:51Well now these brothers in arms are being abandoned by the Trump administration

03:56Abandoned to a regime that wants them dead. That's not the way you treat allies

04:01That's not the way you treat people who put their lives on the line

04:03Not just on not just for Afghanistan before the United States of America

04:09You mentioned the summer of 2021. There was widespread criticism of the really chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan

04:16There was criticism as you said that we were abandoning our partners in Afghanistan. Is this a case of us again?

04:23Abandoning our Afghan partners and what can Congress do about it?

04:27Let's be clear. These women are going to school because of America. We're the ones who said

04:33Girls and women you should go to school, too

04:35It's the right position, but it's because of our presence in Afghanistan that they were inspired to do so

04:41So yeah

04:42We are turning our back on our allies when we then abandon them when they try to try to get an education and seek some

04:49freedom from the draconian

04:50Taliban rule so we do have to stand up for them

04:53And what I've heard is that the Trump administration is now working on another travel ban even more

05:00Expansive than the travel ban from Trump's first term and he's going to include Afghanistan on the list

05:06that means that our friends and allies who served alongside us who veterans like myself have been working for years to

05:13Rescue from the Taliban are gonna be shut out and many of them will be killed

'Has No Idea What He's Doing': Seth Moulton Blasts Elon Musk Over USAID Cuts

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