WASHINGTON, Feb 4, (AP): The Trump administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk moved to eradicate the agency that provides crucial aid that funds education and fights starvation, epidemic and poverty overseas, sparking a showdown with congressional Democrats who blasted the effort as illegal and vowed a court fight.

In one of the most dramatic efforts to push back on President Donald Trump’s bid to slash and reshape the federal government, some Democrats sought Monday to enter the headquarters of the US Agency for International Development. They were blocked by officers from even broaching the lobby, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was the acting administrator of the agency despite it being an independent body for six decades.

While Trump has spent the first three weeks of his new presidency making broad changes to the federal government, the fast-moving developments at USAID have emerged as a particularly controversial flashpoint with Democrats who argue it symbolizes the massive power Musk is wielding over Washington. "Spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk boasted on X.

In the space of a few weeks, in fact, much of the agency was dismantled - work and spending ordered stopped, leadership and staff gutted by furloughs, firings and disciplinary leaves, and the website taken offline. Lawmakers said the agency's computer servers were carted away. Trump told reporters Monday that shutting down USAID "should have been done a long time ago.”

Asked whether he needs Congress to approve such a measure, the president said he did not think so. Congressional Democrats, cheered by a few hundred supporters, vowed to act outside USAID headquarters, where federal officers and yellow tape blocked both employees and lawmakers from entering hours after Musk declared, "We’re shutting it down.”

"This is a constitutional crisis we are in today," Democratic Sen Chris Murphy said. Added Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin: "We don't have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk. And that's going to become real clear.” Showing the extraordinary power of Musk and his budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency, thousands of USAID employees have been laid off and programs shut down around the world in the two weeks since Trump became president and imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.