Donald Trump has led an effort to dismantle USAID since he took office in January
AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting was a spectacle for the world as Elon Musk, the president's close advisor, admitted that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) canceled the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Ebola prevention program in the process of cutting down federal spending.

The tech titan said the program was immediately restored after the unofficial presidential unit realized it was a "mistake" to cancel the program.

However, some current and former officials beg to disagree, saying there was "no effort" from Musk's part to restore the program that played a crucial role in fighting Ebola outbreaks.

Musk Makes Careful Statements in Cabinet Meeting Appearance

Unlike his usual bombastic appearances alongside the U.S. president, Musk appeared to be more toned-down Wednesday night as he spoke before watchful, veteran politicians in the Trump cabinet.

"We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect," Musk told Trump's cabinet members, who were intently listening to the business mogul as he explained the work the DOGE is doing in slashing government expenditures.

He noted that the department he is leading "will fix it very quickly" when it does make mistakes, including the cancelation of the USAID's anti-Ebola program.

"One of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention," he said, adding that it was "restored immediately" following the incident.

USAID Officials Deny Musk's 'Claims' of Restoring Initiative

Dan Diamond of The Washington Post said that according to current and former agency officials, Musk did not really restore the program.

"There have been no efforts to 'turn on'" Ebola prevention, said Nidhi Bouri, who oversaw the team's work on the initiative through January, as per the report.

Bouri went on to reveal that her former team of 60 people working on response toward Ebola prevention "had been cut to about six staffers as of earlier this week," Diamond wrote in a series of tweets.

X Users Divided Over The Issue

Users on Musk-owned X are divided about the issue, with some saying Musk and DOGE were just doing their best to reduce unnecessary government spending, while others argued making such "mistakes" would eventually evolve into bigger scandals.

One user said there shouldn't be a problem with the Ebola program, since Musk canceled it only "for a day."

Another user said one of the "mistakes" the DOGE makes in the process of its aggressive approach will, at one point, "involve access and control of the nukes."

One user observed that Trump's cabinet members looked "tired" while listening to the tech billionaire's speech," adding that it appears Musk "doesn't understand that you can't make cuts without Congress's approval."

Some 1,600 USAID personnel have been fired from their positions and thousands of others were placed on leave earlier this week.

It remains to be seen whether Musk will push his earlier call to "kill" the USAID, which he referred to as "a criminal organization."