Rep. Khanna Dismisses Elon Musk Threat to Sue Over USAID Criticism

Rep. Ro Khanna said Thursday he would not be intimidated by a lawsuit threat from Elon Musk over criticism of cuts to U.S. foreign aid programs. Khanna spoke to Fox News Digital outside the U.S. Capitol.

"This is what he does," he said. "It’s symptomatic of our times that billionaires — and now [a] trillionaire — can threaten to sue members of Congress for doing their job. He won’t intimidate me. I’m not going to be intimidated by the guy.

Khanna had accused Musk of endangering children through reductions at the United States Agency for International Development. In a recent podcast, Khanna said accountability was needed for Musk. "They’re celebrating that he created 4,400 millionaires, but they don’t talk about the 4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID," he said, citing a Lancet Group study.

By March of last year, USAID had cut roughly 83 percent of its programs, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Musk founded SpaceX and Tesla and oversaw efforts to reduce spending at the agency during the second Trump administration. Khanna said he liked his chances if sued.

"Grok says he doesn’t have a case, so we will have to see," he said, referring to the AI chatbot on X.