Trump has
long hated this media outlet. Now he’s ordering it dismantled.
Journalists
are being placed on administrative leave and grants are being terminated at
other outlets.
By Ali
Bianco, Phelim Kine and Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing
03/15/2025
03:54 PM EDT
Updated:
03/15/2025 05:41 PM EDT
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/15/trump-media-voice-of-america-00003119
President
Donald Trump is gutting U.S.-backed global media, including Voice of America,
that broadcasts news to millions worldwide — and that he has long held a grudge
against.
The move
comes after Trump signed an executive order to hollow out a string of small
government agencies and offices late Friday. The order calls for the U.S.
Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA and a collection of other media
outlets globally, to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with
applicable law.”
The weekend
moves around USAGM suggest the administration will shutter entirely — or at a
minimum dramatically reduce — the media platforms it oversees.
VOA Director
Mike Abramowitz confirmed in a Saturday afternoon post on hisFacebook account
that “virtually the entire staff of Voice of America — more than 1300
journalists, producers and support staff — has been placed on administrative
leave today,” adding that he was among those affected.
“Even if the
agency survives in some form, the actions being taken today by the
Administration will severely damage Voice of America’s ability to foster a
world that is safe and free and in doing so is failing to protect U.S.
interests,” Abramowitz wrote, noting that the move comes amid rising
disinformation promoted by “America’s adversaries, like Iran, China, and
Russia.”
Trump has
repeatedly attacked VOA since his first term. Before he entered office earlier
this year, Trump said he wanted Kari Lake, a MAGA loyalist and former news
anchor who twice ran unsuccessfully for statewide office in Arizona, to run the
outlet. She has since been appointed as a special adviser to USAGM.
An email
from human resources at USAGM was sent Saturday placing VOA journalists on
administrative leave. The journalists were also told not to access the USAGM
premises or any of the agency’s systems, according to a copy of the email
viewed by POLITICO.
Two VOA
journalists — granted anonymity by POLITICO out of fear of retribution —
confirmed they were placed on leave on Saturday morning. A VOA contractor, also
granted anonymity, received a similar notice.
Lake put out
a post on X highlighting the executive order and urging employees from VOA and
the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which is also housed within USAGM, to urgently
check their email.
According to
a VOA journalist, some VOA employees received the email as they were en route
to their studios to record shows Saturday morning. With no clear guidance or
direction from VOA leadership, journalists were left scrambling to figure out
how to fill air time, considering rerunning old shows or simply playing music.
The
journalist compared Saturday morning’s chaos to the mayhem caused by the
Department of Government Efficiency’s slash-and-burn approach to downsizing
federal agencies that prompted a frenzied wave of mass firings.
“The
decision to dismantle one of America’s greatest national assets will inflict
profound harm on the U.S. image, its global interests, and the promotion of
democratic values — damage that no adversary could ever achieve,” Elez Biberaj,
who briefly served as Voice of America’s acting director and retired in 2023,
said in a social media post.
Spokespeople
for both VOA and USAGM did not respond to requests for comment.
USAGM also
notified Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Saturday that
the agency is terminating grants that support the media platforms’ operations
effective immediately. Radio Free Asia has been one of the government’s key
vehicles for combatting Chinese propaganda.
RFA is
expected to start furloughing some of its staff next week, POLITICO reported
Friday.
In a
statement released Saturday, RFE CEO Stephen Capus wrote that the agency’s
grant termination “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.”
A
notification letter to RFA obtained by POLITICO and signed by Lake said the
funding cut is a response to Trump’s executive order “mandating that the USAGM
eliminate all non-statutorily required activities and functions.”
An RFA
spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter but declined comment on its
contents.
High-profile
journalists and news associations have blasted the move, questioning what the
shuttering of VOA will mean for press freedom under the second Trump
administration.
“VOA
journalists in our [White House] press corps are smart, dedicated and shine
lights on vital issues,” Kelly O’Donnell, an NBC News correspondent and former
president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, wrote on X. “I am
proud of their dedication. If you believe in a free press, stand with VOA.”
The National
Press Club put out a statement on Saturday, pressing Congress to call for
transparency and accountability and to make sure that VOA continues to be
operational.
“For
decades, Voice of America has delivered fact-based, independent journalism to
audiences worldwide, often in places where press freedom does not exist,” Press
Club president Mike Balsamo wrote. “Removing large numbers of its journalists
at the same time as dismantling USAGM threatens the very foundation that has
allowed VOA to operate without political interference.”
Voice of
America was created in 1942 and broadcasts globally. Its 1976 charter — signed
into law by President Gerald Ford — says the “long-range interests of the
United States are served by communicating directly with the peoples of the
world,” calling for “accurate, objective and comprehensive” journalism. Laws in
the 1990s and 2010s have protected the VOA from interference by U.S. government
officials.
The Trump
administration has been celebrating the shutdown.
Several top
advisers to the president, including Katie Miller — a DOGE spokesperson and
Stephen Miller’s wife — have said “goodbye” to the news organization, while the
administration’s rapid response account has reposted headlines where VOA has
questioned “white privilege.”
“U.S.
taxpayers shouldn’t be funding this,” the Rapid Response account said.
Sophia Cai
and Eric Bazail-Eimil contributed to this report
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