For more than six decades, the U.S. Agency for International Development was America’s way of helping feed some of the world’s poorest populations and fighting diseases in extreme locations.
USAID was the U.S. response with humanitarian aid in more than 100 countries.
But that mission was abruptly dismantled in 2025, when President Donald Trump’s administration terminated most USAID programs and transferred the remaining work to the State Department.
Billionaire Elon Musk played a highly visible role in the campaign to end USAID. While leading the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Musk called USAID a “criminal organization” and said it was “time for it to die.” On Feb. 3, 2025, he posted on X that he had spent the weekend “feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
That comment provides the title for “Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID,” a new book by former senior USAID official Nicholas Enrich.
Enrich worked at USAID under four presidential administrations and directed policy, programs and planning for its Bureau for Global Health. He was placed on administrative leave in March 2025 after publicly warning that the administration was disrupting lifesaving programs.
The book portrays USAID’s dismantling as a chaotic process directed by Musk’s DOGE team and political appointees who, Enrich argues, knew little about the agency. He says officials ignored warnings about interruptions to HIV treatment, childhood vaccinations, nutrition assistance and infectious-disease surveillance.
The administration defended the overhaul as necessary to eliminate waste and ensure foreign aid served American interests.
Enrich contends that the sudden cancellations broke American commitments, endangered vulnerable populations and weakened U.S. influence abroad.
A peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet estimated that continuing the cuts could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including 4.5 million children younger than five.
Beyond chronicling USAID’s destruction, Enrich’s book argues that government employees have a duty to speak out when they believe political leaders are issuing unlawful or dangerous directives.
Guest:
Nicholas Enrich is a former senior USAID official and the author of the book “Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID.”
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255 or email thesource@tpr.org.
This interview will be recorded live on Thursday September 3, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
