UPDATE 3 April: District Court judge J Paul Oetken has giv en a legal opinion that the Trump administration cannot unilaterally terminate Voice of America and related radio programs that were approved and funded by Congress. Rescinding funds for those programs would require congressional approval, the judge wrote. Oetken did not require Voice of America to resume broadcasts, but his order made clear that employees should not be fired until further court proceedings took place.
Implementing US President Trump’s edict, America’s ‘Global Media Agency has shut down VOA, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and other American international broadcast outlets.
Staff have been placed on leave and many are expected to be caught up in the wider staffing changes and redundancies being implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Former Phoenix TV news anchor and unsuccessful Republican condidate for Arizona governor, Kari Lake (pictured), was placed in change of the US Global Media Agency by Donald Trump after his election. She has implied that some staff may return to resume some services at some time in the future, once the ‘rot’ has been cut out.
In a media release last week on the agency’s website, Lake said:
Today, in compliance with President Trump’s Executive Order titled, Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, the US Agency for Global Media initiated measures to eliminate the non-statutory components and functions to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law. USAGM and the outlets it oversees will be reduced to their statutory functions and associated personnel will be reduced to the minimum presence and function required by law.
This action will impact the agency’s workforce at USAGM, Voice of America, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and all Grantees. Most USAGM staff affected by this action will be placed on paid-administrative leave beginning Saturday, March 15, 2025, and remain on leave until further notice.
“While at USAGM, I vow to fully implement President Trump’s executive orders in his mission to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. Today we continue the process of doing that by streamlining our operations to what is statutorily required by law,” said USAGM Senior Adviser, Kari Lake. “The US Agency for Global media will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview and shed everything that is not statutorily required. I fully support the President’s executive order. Waste, fraud, aand abuse run rampant in this agency and American taxpayers shouldn’t have to fund it…”
This agency is not salvageable.
From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer—a national security risk for this nation—and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule.
It is unfortunate that the work that was done by self-interested insiders in coordination with outside activist groups and radical Leftist advocacy organizations to “Trump-Proof” the agency made it impossible to reform. In fact, they weren’t just “Trump-Proofing” the agency from political leadership, they were accountability-proofing the agency from the American people. They did all this while spending taxpayer money to create false narratives. These were amplified by biased media counterparts with clear conflicts of interest at the Washington Post, NPR and more, to actively cover up their obscene waste, fraud, and abuse.
“This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States and promoting freedom and democracy. Going forward, I am going to ensure accountability will be the norm and not the exception. I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Agency and its outlets. I look forward to moving forward with modernizing the core mission of telling America’s story throughout the world in a meaningful, impactful and effective way,” Lake added.
China has welcomed the move after long accusing VOA of being a propaganda machine full of “malicious falsehoods” about the Chinese state. An editorial in China’s Global Times said:
The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been discarded by its own government like a dirty rag.
Founded in 1942, VOA became a frontline propaganda tool in the ideological confrontation of the Cold War. In recent decades, under the banner of promoting so-called freedom and democracy, it has broadcast in over 40 languages worldwide, attempting to shape the image of the US as a “moral high ground.”
However, its independence and credibility have long been questioned and criticized. Known for stirring up conflicts, inciting social divisions, and even participating in regime change efforts, VOA is widely recognized as Washington’s carefully crafted propaganda machine for peaceful evolution, earning itself a notorious reputation on the global stage. Similar to Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, its primary function is to serve Washington’s need to attack other countries based on ideological demands.
An opinion editorial on Russia Today said:
According to USAGM’s own website, it was reaching an audience of 427 million per week in 64 languages, and via traditional broadcasting as well as the internet. Those lucky viewers, listeners, and readers were fed an unhealthy diet corresponding to the US “national interest” (in USAGM’s own terms) of “more than 3,000 hours of original programming each week.”
Say what you will about this American ministry of foreign propaganda, but it was bigger and richer than anything comparable the poor old Soviets ever managed to rig up.
And that is the organization that Trump and Musk have just cut down. The Cold War, of course, has long been over. Any reasonable person’s response to this overdue move would be: ‘What took you so long?’
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus said:
“The cancellation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s grant agreement would be a massive gift to America’s enemies. The Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years. Handing our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker.”
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of USAID programmes would also be cut after a six-week review. Media aid programs across the world will be hard hit by the USAID cuts.