More than 1,300 employees at Voice of America (VOA) were placed on leave Saturday following an executive order from President Donald Trump that slashed funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and six other federal agencies. The move also cut financial support for two key news services that broadcast to authoritarian regimes.
Michael Abramowitz, VOA’s director, said nearly the entire workforce of journalists, producers, and support staff had been put on administrative leave, effectively halting operations at the government-funded broadcaster, which delivers news in nearly 50 languages.
“I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,” Abramowitz wrote on LinkedIn, emphasizing its role in promoting “freedom and democracy worldwide.”
Alongside VOA, USAGM terminated grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which provides independent news to Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, and Radio Free Asia (RFA), which broadcasts to China and North Korea.
Trump’s directive is expected to significantly impact these organizations, which serve as vital news sources in countries with restricted press freedom.
Founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA now reaches an estimated 360 million people weekly. USAGM employs approximately 3,500 workers and operates on an $886 million budget, according to its latest congressional report.
VOA’s Seoul Bureau Chief William Gallo reported Sunday that he had been locked out of company systems and accounts.
“All I’ve ever wanted to do is shoot straight and tell the truth, no matter what government I was covering. If that’s a threat to anyone, so be it,” Gallo posted on Bluesky.
Kari Lake, a former news anchor and Trump ally nominated to lead VOA, defended the cuts, describing USAGM as “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer” and stating it was “not salvageable.” She said she would reduce the agency’s size to the minimum allowed under law.
On its website, RFE/RL warns that it has been designated an “undesirable organization” by Russia and cautions that Russian citizens could face legal consequences for engaging with its content.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky called RFE/RL a “beacon” for those under oppressive rule.
“From Belarus to Iran, from Russia to Afghanistan, RFE and Voice of America are among the few free sources for people living without freedom,” Lipavsky posted on X.
Trump’s executive order instructed USAGM and other agencies to scale back to their legally mandated minimum operations, citing efforts to reduce government spending.
Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club, criticized the cuts, warning they undermine America’s commitment to independent journalism.
“For decades, Voice of America has delivered fact-based, independent journalism to audiences worldwide, often in places where press freedom does not exist,” Balsamo said.
Reporters Without Borders, based in Paris, also denounced the move, calling it “a direct threat to press freedom worldwide” and a rejection of decades of U.S. leadership in promoting the free flow of information.
Bay Fang, president of Radio Free Asia, argued the funding cuts benefit authoritarian regimes.
“This is a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked,” Fang said.
Some Republicans have accused VOA and other publicly funded news organizations of left-wing bias and have advocated for their closure. The cuts align with efforts by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce the size of the federal government.
Musk’s agency has already cut over 100,000 jobs across the 2.3 million-member federal workforce, frozen foreign aid, and eliminated thousands of government programs.
On Saturday, Musk appeared to mock the USAGM cuts on X, writing, “While winding down this global government propaganda agency, it has temporarily been renamed the Department of Propaganda Everywhere (DOPE).”
Trump’s order also targeted several other agencies for reductions, including the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency. The White House said these reductions would limit the agencies to their “minimum presence and function required by law.”
In a statement, the administration defended the executive order, saying it “ensures taxpayers are no longer funding radical propaganda,” citing allegations of left-wing bias at VOA.
