Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) unloaded on trillionaire Elon Musk Monday morning over his tenure in the Trump administration – namely, his time leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the initiative’s federal spending cuts that are projected to cause millions of preventable deaths.
Khanna recently appeared on the progressive podcast “I’ve Had it” with host Jennifer Welch, during which he noted that a one-time 5% tax on Musk’s wealth would generate enough revenue to fund “universal child care for every family” in the United States. Musk responded to a clip of Khanna’s appearance posted on social media Sunday night, calling the California Democrat “such an evil liar.”
The next morning, Khanna fired back, sharing research suggesting that the spending cuts enacted under Musk’s leadership at DOGE may cause 14 million preventable deaths by 2030.
“Elon, how about just paying the 5% instead of hurling random insults?” Khanna wrote. “And here are the facts, man. Your [United States Agency for International Development] cuts did this.”
Khanna shared a report from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health citing a peer-reviewed study that found as many as 4.5 million children under the age of five may perish due to the recent U.S. foreign aid cuts spearheaded by Musk.
Over the past 20 years, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is estimated to have “helped save 91 million lives,” per the report, with USAID-supported programs “associated with a 15% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 32% reduction in mortality among children under five.”
During his time leading DOGE, Musk oversaw around $60 billion in cuts to U.S. foreign aid, leaving “few surviving USAID projects” after he departed from the Trump administration last year amid controversy.
Elon, how about just paying the 5% instead of hurling random insults?
And here are the facts, man. Your USAID cuts did this: https://t.co/OPROIIve0Qhttps://t.co/7JBavqE7qn
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) June 22, 2026