WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has started implementing significant budget cuts to Voice of America and other government-run programs that support democracy. The director of the organization stated that all Voice of America employees have been placed on leave.
Following the approval of the latest funding bill by Congress on Friday night, President Trump instructed his administration to scale back the operations of various agencies to meet the minimum legal requirements. This directive included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia, as well as Radio Marti, a broadcaster that transmits news in Spanish to Cuba.
On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, who was an unsuccessful candidate for Arizona governor and U.S. Senate and was appointed as a senior advisor by Trump, announced on X that employees should monitor their emails. Around the same time, notifications were sent 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 organization’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 authorized 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 U.S.’s historic role as a defender of free information and calls on the U.S. government to restore VOA and urges Congress and the international community to take action against this unprecedented move.”
The Agency for Global Media also sent notices terminating grants to Radio Free Asia and other programming run by the agency. Voice of America transmits United States domestic news into other countries, often translated into local languages. Radio Free Asia, Europe and Marti beam news into countries with authoritarian regimes in those regions like China, North Korea and Russia.
“The cancellation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s grant agreement would be a massive gift to America’s enemies,” said the network’s President and CEO, Stephen Capus, in a statement.
Combined, the networks reach an estimated 427 million people. They date back to the Cold War and are part of a network of government-funded organizations trying to extend U.S. influence and combat authoritarianism that includes USAID, another agency targeted by Trump.
The reduction is a dramatic blow at a staple of post-Cold War order that has long had bipartisan support. Voice of America’s directors have included Dick Carlson, the father of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
Thomas Kent, former president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said that Trump’s intentions for the agencies are still foggy. Without these news sources, it will be that much harder for the country to get its messages to the world, he said.
“Without the international broadcasting, the image of the United States and the Trump administration will be in the hands of others, including the administration’s opponents, (and) countries and people who consider the United States an enemy,” said Kent, an international consultant on media ethics.
A video posted on X by Lake on Saturday talked about cost-cutting measures, not mentioning the employees and the mission of Voice of America. Her video was made at a building leased by VOA that Lake described as a waste of money. She said she would try to break the agency’s 15-year lease on the building.
“We’re doing everything we can to cancel contracts that can be cancelled, save more, downsize and make sure there’s no misuse of your dollars,” she said.
The letter places employees on administrative leave and says staff would continue to receive pay and benefits “until otherwise notified.” It ordered employees not to use Agency for Global Media facilities and return equipment like phones and computers.
The Trump administration has already made other steps to assert its authority over Voice of America, and this week canceled contracts that allowed VOA to use material from independent news organizations, such as The Associated Press.
The administration has also banned the AP from press pools that cover the president and moved to take charge of what news organizations are members of the pools, and the FCC is investigating news organizations like CBS.
Trump’s order requiring reductions also includes several other, lesser-known government agencies such as the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a nonpartisan think tank, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
