In response to reports that Elon Musk has taken control of U.S. Treasury payment systems and is shutting down the United States Agency for International Development, Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea released the following statement:

“An unelected billionaire is hijacking our government. Elon Musk is gutting public institutions, seizing control of taxpayer dollars, and deciding, on his own, who gets paid. His attempt to dismantle USAID isn’t just an attack on humanitarian aid; it’s a test run to see how far he can go in bypassing Congress and dismantling democracy itself. The only thing standing between Musk and a full-blown coup is a Republican-controlled Congress. Senator Mike Crapo, as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has a duty to stop this power grab and protect our financial systems. Americans of all political stripes should be alarmed that a chaos agent with a history of fraud and reckless mismanagement is seizing control of critical government infrastructure.”