The Trump administration initiated substantial staff cuts at Voice of America and other government-funded, pro-democracy media outlets on Saturday, furthering the President’s efforts to reshape government without Congressional consent.
On Friday night, shortly after Congress approved the latest funding bill, Trump instructed his administration to minimize the operations of several agencies to the legally required minimum. This included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Marti, which broadcasts Spanish-language news to Cuba.
On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, the former Arizona gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate recently appointed as a senior advisor to the agency by Trump, suggested on X that employees check their email. This coincided with Voice of America staff receiving notices placing them on paid administrative leave.
The agency also issued notices terminating grants for Radio Free Asia and other programs it manages. Voice of America broadcasts U.S. news internationally, often translated into local languages. Radio Free Asia, Europe, and Marti transmit news to countries with authoritarian governments, such as China, North Korea, and Russia.
Collectively, these networks reach approximately 427 million people. Established during the Cold War, they are part of a U.S. government-funded network aimed at expanding U.S. influence and countering authoritarianism, which includes USAID, another agency targeted by Trump.
These recent cuts are particularly controversial because the Agency for Global Media is an independent agency established by Congress, which passed legislation in 2020 to limit the authority of the agency’s presidentially appointed executives. Trump has already taken steps to undermine programs mandated by Congress, potentially leading to a Supreme Court battle over the extent of presidential powers.
Trump’s order also encompasses several other, lesser-known government entities, including the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a nonpartisan think tank, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
The Trump administration has previously taken contentious actions regarding Voice of America, such as suspending a journalist for reporting criticism of Trump and terminating contracts that allowed VOA to utilize content from independent news organizations like the Associated Press.
—Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
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