The White House says President Trump’s order to cut funding for VOA and its parent company aims to stop Americans from funding “radical propaganda.”
The White House has stated that President Trump’s decision to end government funding for Voice of America (VOA) is intended to prevent taxpayers from supporting “radical propaganda.”
In a statement released on Saturday, entitled ‘The Voice of Radical America’, the administration detailed a list of alleged wrongdoings by VOA.
Trump, who has frequently criticized the broadcaster, signed an executive order on Friday to drastically reduce funding for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VOA’s parent organization. The order requires the agency to minimize its operations and staff to the legally required minimum and submit a compliance plan within a week. VOA Director Michael Abramowitz announced on Saturday that he had placed almost all of his 1,300 employees on administrative leave following the order’s publication.
The action has been met with criticism from press freedom advocates. National Press Club President Mike Balsamo asserted that the cuts undermine the US commitment to a free and independent press, and Reporters Without Borders cautioned that the decision “threatens press freedom worldwide.”
The White House contends that VOA has consistently violated journalistic standards and accuses the outlet of systemic bias, citing over a dozen sources. Among these was Dan Robinson, a 34-year VOA veteran, who last year described the agency as a “hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media.”
The White House also referenced a Daily Caller report alleging that several VOA reporters had posted anti-Trump comments on social media, violating the outlet’s impartiality policy. It also cited a 2022 letter from US Representative Scott Perry, who accused VOA of allowing “coercion for partisan political purposes.”
Other alleged violations listed by the White House included the misuse of funds and coverage that was excessively favorable to former President Joe Biden. The administration also mentioned a 2022 lawsuit claiming that VOA had been “infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic State interests.”
Kari Lake, USAGM’s Trump-appointed senior adviser, supported the administration’s position. On Saturday, she called the agency “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer,” and claimed that it is “not salvageable.” She promised to reduce the agency’s scope to its legal minimum, citing her own findings of irregularities, including allegations that USAGM was infiltrated by spies and terrorist sympathizers and has funded ‘fake news’ organizations.