Over 1,300 Voice of America staff placed on leave after Trump asks to pause funds; ‘deeply saddened’, says director

Over 1,300 employees of Voice of America, amounting to its entire workforce, was placed on leave on Saturday, its director has revealed. The move comes a day after President Donald Trump ordered the pause of the government-funded media outlet's parent and six other federal agencies.

Taking to LinkedIn, Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz said that the entire staff of his organisation, including him and fellow journalists, were put on leave.

“I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced. I learned this morning that virtually the entire staff of Voice of America—more than 1,300 journalists, producers and support staff—has been placed on administrative leave today. So have I,” he said.

According to a report by Reuters, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), a government-funded agency that is the parent company of VOA, also terminated its grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The channel broadcasts to countries in Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine. Grants to Radio Free Asia, which broadcasts to China and North Korea, were also gutted.

VOA needs ‘thoughtful reform’, says director

Abramowitz in his LinkedIn post said that Voice of America needs a thoughtful reform but the latest action will stop it carry out its critical mission.

“VOA needs thoughtful reform, and we have made progress in that regard. But today’s action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission. That mission is especially critical today, when America’s adversaries, like Iran, China, and Russia, are sinking billions of dollars into creating false narratives to discredit the United States,” he said.

“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. Even if the agency survives in some form, the actions being taken today by the Administration will severely damage Voice of America’s ability to foster a world that is safe and free and in doing so is failing to protect U.S. interests,” the director added.

For more than 80 years, Voice of America has been a priceless asset for the United States, playing “an essential role in the fight against communism, fascism, and oppression, and in the fight for freedom and democracy around the world.”

“Today, VOA reaches more than 360 million people every week, in 48 languages. In many dictatorships, VOA is often the only reliable source of news and information,” he said.

USAGM a ‘giant rot’: Trump ally

Kari Lake, the former news anchor and Trump loyalist nominated to be director of VOA, issued a statement describing USAGM as "a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer" and said it was “not salvageable.”

Lake, referring to herself as a USAGM senior adviser, said she would shrink the agency to its minimum possible size under the law.

Trump in his executive order on Friday asked USAGM and six other agencies to reduce their operations to the minimum mandated by statutes, saying it was necessary to shrink bureaucracy.