Billionaire Elon Musk is facing heavy criticism amid an outbreak of ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda after a video resurfaced in which he is shown admitting that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) "accidentally canceled" funding for ebola prevention.
These cuts have contributed to what the World Health Organization (WHO) has now categorized as a "global health emergency." At least 131 people have died in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where officials say more than 513 suspected cases have been identified.
A government spokesperson said the outbreak is spreading geographically, with infections now being reported across a broader area of the country. Health officials have also confirmed two Ebola cases and one death in neighboring Uganda. To make matters worse, at least six Americans are currently showing symptoms of the virus.
Ebola can lead to severe illness and, without treatment, is often life-threatening. In the early stages of the illness, people with ebola may experience "dry" symptoms like fever, body aches, pains, and fatigue.
As the disease progresses, it typically develops into "wet" symptoms, which can include diarrhea, vomiting, and unexplained bleeding. Although some people recover from ebola, it remains a severe and often deadly disease.
A clip broadcast on Fox News last year has resurfaced—and it's reminding people of Musk's contribution to this whole mess:
"We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect. But when we make mistakes, we'll fix it very quickly."
"For example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was ebola prevention. I think we all want ebola prevention so we restored ebola prevention immediately and there was no interruption."
"We do need to move quickly if we're to achieve a trillion dollar deficit reduction in financial year 2026."
You can hear what Musk said in the video below.
People are furious.
Musk previously said his goal was to reduce federal spending by $2 trillion from the $6.75 trillion annual budget recorded in the 2024 fiscal year. In March 2025, just two months into the second Trump administration, DOGE claimed its initiatives led to an estimated $140 billion in savings—an amount that was called into question.
Laurence Tribe, a leading constitutional scholar and professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, has made clear he views Musk's actions as unconstitutional, saying Musk cannot legally wield sweeping control over multiple government departments.
Tribe warned that the absence of oversight on DOGE’s unconventional maneuvers raises concerns of both legal and ethical violations that could be challenged in court. Additionally, Tribe sees Musk’s dual role—as both a federal contractor, through ventures like Starlink’s Pentagon contracts, and a government official—as “absolutely” a conflict of interest.
Tribe also argued that Musk's move to enlist a team of young programmers who took control of the Treasury Department’s payment system, gaining access to Americans’ addresses, Social Security numbers, and bank account information, raises "serious issues of privacy."
@EdwardLawrence/X
