Trump signs orders to gutt staff at US-funded media outlets
Washington: President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organisation’s director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave.
On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law.
That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba.
On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial and US Senate candidate whom Trump named a senior adviser to the agency, posted on X that employees should check their email. That coincided with notices going out placing Voice of America staff on paid administrative leave.
“For the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,” Michael Abramowitz, the organisation’s director, said in a statement. He added that “virtually” the entire 1300-person staff was placed on leave.
“VOA promotes freedom and democracy around the world by telling America’s story and by providing objective and balanced news and information, especially for those living under tyranny,”
Abramowitz said.
One reporter, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press, said: “We expected something like this to happen, and it just happened to be today.”
The press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it “condemns this decision as a departure from the US’s historic role as a defender of free information and calls on the US government to restore VOA and urges Congress and the international community to take action against this unprecedented move”.
The Trump administration has cut funding to US-backed media like Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, calling it cost-saving. Critics warn this weakens US influence against authoritarian regimes.
Staff face administrative leave, and contracts with independent news agencies are cancelled. Trump’s order also targets think tanks and social programmes, reshaping post-Cold War US outreach efforts.
