The United States Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA, among seven agencies deemed “unnecessary” by the White House
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday seeking the dismantling of seven more federal agencies, including one that oversees government-funded media outlet Voice of America (VOA).
“This order continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary,” the White House said Friday.
On Saturday morning, amid news that that VOA employees had started receiving paid administrative leave notices, Kari Lake — the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and former newscaster who Trump picked as senior adviser for the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which houses VOA — wrote on social media, “If you are an employee of the agency please check your email immediately for more information.”
Voice of America, which transmits U.S. news into other countries, has long been a target of Trump and conservatives, who accuse the broadcaster of having an overtly liberal and anti-Trump bias. The USAGM also oversees Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, each of which were also impacted by Trump’s latest cuts.
The USAGM networks combined broadcasted in 49 languages and were estimated to reach 427 million people worldwide, the Associated Press reports.
The other agencies impacted by Friday’s executive order include the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Institute of Museum and Library Service, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency.
Friday’s executive order is just the latest in a string of federal guttings as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and the Trump administration slice up essential entities, including this week at the Department of Education.
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