On March 14, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that cut funding to non-statutory components of the United States Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, the federal agency that funds the operations of a number of global news organizations including Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA).
The order calls for the elimination “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” of USAGM in addition to six other unrelated government entities whose operations revolve around museums, homelessness, minority business development and more.
In an article on March 15, addressing the order, RFA wrote “While the order addresses ‘non-statutory components’ of USAGM, RFA is statutorily established, meaning it was congressionally established by a statute in the International Broadcasting Act.”
However, a letter sent to the president of RFA on Saturday, signed by USAGM special advisor Kari Lake titled “Senior Advisor to the Acting CEO with Authorities Delegated by Acting CEO,” says that federal grant money to RFA has been terminated and that RFA is required to “promptly refund any unobligated funds,” adding that RFA can appeal the decision within 30 days.
Since RFA is entirely funded by U.S. federal grants, it will likely cease operations should the news organization fail in the appeal process or another authority steps in to stop Trump’s order. Similarly, VOA is also fully funded by American taxpayers, and will likely cease all operations due to Trump’s order.
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RFA issued a statement Saturday saying, “The termination of RFA’s grant is a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked in the information space. Today’s notice not only disenfranchises the nearly 60 million people who turn to RFA’s reporting on a weekly basis to learn the truth, but it also benefits America’s adversaries at our own expense.”
Communist China has come forward praising the cut in funding.
‘Voice of America is being silenced’
Michael Abramowitz, VOA director told ABC News, “For the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced.”
Voice of America was first established in 1942, tasked with countering Nazi propaganda. Over the years it grew and reached an estimated 350 million people weekly with domestic news translated into nearly 50 languages.
“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 told The Associated Press under the condition of anonymity, “We expected something like this to happen, and it just happened to be today.”
Reporters Without Borders, a press advocacy group, blasted the order saying 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.”
Trump’s executive order is also impacting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB). Combined these networks reached more than 427 million people.
As part of their mandate, these organizations, including RFA and VOA were intended to spread domestic American media throughout different regions of the world, with the goal to communicate American values and perspectives.
Alleged bias and national security risks
During Trump’s first term his administration frequently criticized outfits like VOA for allegedly spreading narratives that were not supportive of American policies.
In a statement in April 2020, the White House accused VOA of promoting Chinese propaganda during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following June, Trump appointed Michael Pack, a conservative filmmaker, to lead USAGM. Pack quickly implemented drastic changes, including firing top executives at VOA, Radio Free Asia/Radio Liberty, and other USAGM outlets.
Under Pack, USAGM froze visa renewals for foreign journalists working for its outlets, citing security concerns. The move sparked backlash, as many interpreted these efforts as a way to weaken the agency’s ability to operate internationally.
At the time, the Trump administration proposed funding cuts to USAGM in a number of budget proposals, arguing that some of its programs were either redundant or wasteful.
It wasn’t until the most recent U.S. budget, a continuing resolution — signed into law on March 15 this year — that Trump succeeded in eliminating much of the funding for USAGM.
Kari Lake, USAGM special advisor, revealed that the news organization had entered into a deal during the final days of the Biden administration to lease a commercial building in Washington D.C. for a reported quarter of a billion dollars.
“MUST SEE: America, how do you feel about leasing a fancy Washington DC high-rise for a quarter of $1 billion? That’s exactly what the last administration did at the US Agency for Global Media,” Lake posted to X, adding in a subsequent post, “I forgot to add this building is not equipped to do TV or media broadcasting. That will cost tens of millions of dollars maybe 100 million to remedy.”
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