President Donald Trump's administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organization's director saying all VOA employees have been put on 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.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to reduce functions of several agencies to "the minimum required by law." Agencies included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba.
“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 Paris-based 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.
Kari Lake, who was appointed by Trump as a "senior advisor" to the Agency for Global Media, said in a statement on its website that "this agency is not salvageable ... From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer—a national security risk for this nation—and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule."
(With newswires)
