Elon Musk DOGE clip resurfaces as Ebola outbreak declared a global health emergency

A viral clip of Elon Musk laughing at DOGE cutting funding for Ebola prevention resurfaces amid global health emergency.

At the start of Donald Trump’s second term, billionaire crony Musk was inexplicably placed at the helm of a new government department, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was ostensibly established to cut government spending waste.

According to an X/Twitter post by Marco Rubio in March 2025, after a 6-week review period, DOGE was responsible for “cutting 83% of the programs at USAID” which involved cancelling “5200 contracts” – one of which, it transpired, accidentally included Ebola prevention.

Now, in the wake of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda which has prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a “global health emergency”, a resurfaced clip of Musk appearing to laugh at the fact DOGE accidentally cancelled the programme has come to light.

“We will make mistakes," Musk said at Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting in February 2025. “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 cancelled, very briefly, was Ebola prevention. I think we all want Ebola prevention.”

Musk claimed the programme was restored “immediately”, allegedly without interruption – a point disputed at the time by then-current and former USAID officials, according to the Washington Post.

“It’s almost like there was a purpose behind the funding…” someone mocked.

Another said: “I hope this is not true, but am afraid it is.”

One person argued: “So many awful things can be traced back to this ghoul.”

At the time of writing, one American is confirmed to have tested positive for Ebola. The average disease fatality rate is around 50 per cent, according to the WHO.

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