Musk targeting Lutheran organizations including two from Wisconsin

The world’s richest man and a former national security adviser to President Trump appear to be threatening federal funding to institutions using the word “Lutheran” — including La Crosse’s Gundersen Medical Foundation. In a post to X over the weekend, Michael Flynn accused organizations across the country of using religion — specifically using the word “Lutheran” in these cases — as “a money laundering operation”. Elon Musk, who now leads the Department of Government Efficiency, reposted Flynn, saying that his team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.” Of the 42 institutions in Flynn’s post, two are listed as from Wisconsin: Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, Inc. and Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family Services. Flynn’s post claims the Gundersen foundation received $1,000,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services on December 27 last year and that the Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family Services received $995,318 on December 6. Officials with Gundersen stressed that the organization is not religiously affiliated.