Trump Cuts Funding to Voice of America and Radio Liberty: They Will Most Likely Close
Late on March 14, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut seven federal agencies, including the US Agency for Global Media. (USAGM). It was the parent company of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media corporations (RFE/RL) и Voice of America (VOA), the media reports, in particular the publication The Hill.
According to a copy of the internal memo, the Voice of America journalists have been placed on “administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice.” The document says it is “not for disciplinary reasons.”
The memo was sent out on the morning of March 15 by USAGM's human resources chief. The exact number of recipients is unknown, but one source familiar with the matter said "most" of VOA's employees have been placed on administrative leave.
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VOA employees are prohibited from entering USAGM work areas or accessing internal systems without Human Resources clearance or prior approval from their supervisors.
“This decree (on the liquidation of federal agencies – Approx. Ed.) continues to cut elements of the federal bureaucracy that the president believes are unnecessary,” the document says.
VOA employees were warned that if asked, they must "immediately" surrender their USAGM security badge and press card, "as well as any keys or other official government property, including documents, records, electronic devices and phones, and other equipment."
The memo instructed all employees to remain in touch by phone and email during work hours. They were required to provide their personal contact information to the HR department by March 17: phone number, email address, and postal address.
VOA employees must be prepared to return to work within one business day of receiving notice. If they are unable to report to work, they should contact a Human Resources representative “to have the administrative leave reclassified to the appropriate leave category.”
According to the memo, the journalists will remain USAGM employees during their administrative leave.
VOA is an international broadcaster operating in nearly 50 languages.
USAGM also funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.
After winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump appointed former Arizona gubernatorial and senatorial candidate Kari Lake to head VOA. Lake, a former television anchor, told the Conservative Political Action Conference in mid-February that VOA would not become “Trump TV” under her leadership.
In addition, the US president nominated conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III to head USAGM, who will appoint the head of VOA.
Republicans have repeatedly accused VOA and other U.S.-funded news outlets, including NPR and PBS, of bias.
Billionaire and senior Trump adviser Elon Musk has called for the closure of VOA and Radio Liberty.
“Europe is now free (except for the stifling bureaucracy). Hello?? No one listens to them anymore,” Musk wrote on Platform X in early February. “They’re just radical leftists talking to themselves while they burn $1 billion a year of US taxpayer money.”
On February 16, RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Kapus released a statement to the media about the cancellation of funding for Radio Liberty. In the statement, Kapus did not yet refer to the cancellation of funding as a fait accompli. Instead, he said that the termination of the grant agreement by the US Agency for Global Media “would be a huge gift to America’s enemies.”
The head of RFE/RL recalled that stopping the broadcast of this media outlet, founded in 1949, has always been the dream of dictators in different parts of the world.
"Iran's ayatollahs, China's communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk will celebrate the death of Radio Liberty 75 years later [after Liberty's creation]. A victory for our adversaries would make them stronger and America weaker," the statement said.
Kapus emphasized that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has support in the US Congress.
"Throughout its history, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has enjoyed strong bipartisan support. Without us, the nearly 50 million people in closed societies who depend on us each week for accurate news and information will not have access to the truth about America and the world," he said.
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In addition to USAGM, Trump's order affected the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for the Advocacy of the United States, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency.
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