By The American Tribune | Created at 2025-03-18 10:29:56 | Updated at 2025-03-20 16:07:27
2 days ago
President Donald Trump issued an executive order dismantling the Voice of America news network. The order, titled ‘CONTINUING THE REDUCTION OF THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY,’ slashed funding to VOA, and reports indicate that all employees have been placed on executive leave. The executive order targets a number of agencies and programs that are infamous for their political bias and corruption.
Kari Lake, who Trump picked to lead the VOA, was a strong advocate for this move. She issued a series of statements lambasting the rampant waste at the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees the defunct news agency. Inside sources from the Trump admin echoed her conclusions.
Trump’s executive order left no room for interpretation. The order read, “Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function.”
An unnamed source in the Whitehouse explained the reasoning to Fox News Digital. The official said, “Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now.”
Kari Lake, whom Trump selected as the next VOA chief, made a series of statements on X. She said, “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.”
In another social media post, she listed the kinds of corruption that plague the US Agency for Global Media. Lake found, “Massive national security violations, including spies and terrorist sympathizers and/or supporters infiltrating the agency…Obscene over-spending, including a nearly quarter-of-a-billion-dollar lease for a PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE high-rise that has no broadcasting facilities to meet the needs of the agency and included a $9 million commission to a private real estate agent with connections… [and] $100s-of-millions being spent on fake news companies.”
Watch Trump clash with a VOA reporter here:
This Voice of America journalist lied about Trump and got confrontational with him – Now, she’s jobless, and VOA is gone! 💥🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/H2wrGOYk4d
— Global Dissident (@GlobalDiss) March 15, 2025
She also explained that these issues were just the tip of the iceberg. Lake said,” Read this list. It’s just a fraction of what I’ve found at US Agency for Global Media. There’s a reason it’s referred to as “pound-for-pound the most corrupt agency in Washington DC.” Because it is! Through an Executive Order President @realDonaldTrump ordered the agency and its outlets reduced to their statutory minimum. I am the Trump Admin’s Senior Advisor at the agency and I am working to do just that.”
According to a leaked email posted to X by The New York Times reporter David Enrich, VOA employees were notified of the cuts on March 15, 2025. The email reads, “Pursuant to the Presidential Executive Order Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy…effective immediately, the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is placing you on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until otherwise notified. This administrative leave is not being done for any disciplinary purpose.”
Featured image from embedded video
