Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., brushed aside threats of legal action from Elon Musk on Thursday, telling Fox News Digital outside the U.S. Capitol that he would not be intimidated by the billionaire entrepreneur.
The dispute stems from an online back-and-forth between Khanna and Musk over whether cuts to government aid programs overseas — cuts spearheaded by Musk in the early days of the second Trump administration through the Department of Government Efficiency — had led to fatalities abroad.
"This is what he does," Khanna 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. I'm not going to be silenced by the guy."
What the Right Is Saying
Musk personally responded to Khanna's criticism with sharp language on X.
"Time to sue this liar," Musk said in one post.
"Robber Khanna should be in prison," Musk added in a separate reaction.
Conservatives have broadly supported Musk's efforts to trim federal spending, arguing that USAID had approved millions in expenditures with little justification. While few Republicans defended specific programs — such as funding for transgender comic books in Peru and Iraqi Sesame Street — many argued that Musk's cuts appropriately differentiated between wasteful spending and essential humanitarian aid.
Supporters of the DOGE initiative have maintained that the agency was focused on eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse rather than dismantling vital assistance programs.
What the Left Is Saying
Khanna, a high-profile progressive who has been mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, had been criticizing Musk's work dismantling the United States Agency for International Development.
"There needs to be accountability for Elon Musk," Khanna said in a recent podcast appearance. "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."
Khanna cited a study published in the Lancet Group, a medical journal, to support his claim regarding potential child mortality impacts from the aid cuts.
"Grok says he doesn't have a case, so we will have to see," Khanna said when asked if he would go to court if Musk followed through on his posts, referring to the AI chatbot on X, a social media platform owned by Musk. "I'm not going to be silenced."
What the Numbers Show
By March of last year, USAID had cut roughly 83% of its programs, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Khanna cited a Lancet Group study estimating 4.5 million children could be affected by the program reductions — though that figure has not been independently verified by other news organizations.
Musk's net worth exceeds $400 billion, making him one of the wealthiest individuals in history, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.
USAID operated with a budget of approximately $40 billion annually before the cuts began, funding humanitarian programs in more than 100 countries.
The specific damages Musk would seek from any potential lawsuit against Khanna have not been detailed publicly.
The Bottom Line
Khanna's confrontation with Musk represents one of the most high-profile clashes between a member of Congress and a private citizen during the Trump administration's efforts to reduce federal spending.
Legal experts say it remains unclear whether Musk has grounds for a viable defamation claim, given that Khanna was citing published research rather than making statements he knew to be false.
The episode underscores the growing tension between progressive lawmakers who want to preserve foreign aid programs and conservatives who argue such spending is ripe for elimination. As Khanna weighs a potential presidential bid, his willingness to publicly challenge one of America's wealthiest individuals may serve as a signature position — though it also risks alienating some moderate voters concerned about government spending levels.