VOA Staff Placed on Leave After Trump Order Restructures Broadcaster, Director Claims

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  • The Trump administration recently made Voice of America, a government-sponsored broadcasting entity, their newest target.
  • President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday abolishing the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA.
  • Michael Abramowitz, the VOA director, stated that nearly all of the 1,300 employees were put on leave almost entirely.

The Voice of America, a government-supported broadcasting organization set up during World War II to counteract Nazi propaganda, has been effectively silenced after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday.

This morning, I discovered that nearly the complete team at Voice of America—including over 1,300 reporters, editors, and supporting personnel—has been put on administrative leave as of today," stated Michael Abramowitz, the VOA director, in a social media post on Saturday. "This includes myself.

A representative from VOA was not available for commentary right away.

The Trump administration verified the abolition of the VOA in a statement released on Saturday.

"The executive order signed by President Donald J. Trump on Friday ensures that taxpayers won’t be funding radical propaganda anymore," the statement read.

Friday’s directive issued by Trump called for the removal of governmental units that lack statutory authorization, specifically pointing out seven bodies, one of which is the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VOA's parent organization. Additionally, the USAGM supports several broadcasting networks such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

The directive also mentioned several other agencies including the U.S. Interagency Council on homelessness, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

According to the White House, this action was part of the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to decrease the scale of the federal government .

In the statement released on Saturday, the White House seemed to fault the VOA for its editorial choices over the last few years. They cited comments made by a previous VOA White House correspondent who described the network as "an arrogant and independent entity frequently showing a left-leaning bias similar to that of partisan mainstream media."

Established in 1942, VOA has expanded into an international broadcast network reaching over 354 million individuals each week across almost 50 different languages, as reported by the source.

Carla Babb, a VOA Pentagon reporter, mentioned on X that she was among the full-time staff members who were "put on indefinite administrative leave."

“I’m currently unable to share updates with our audience of several hundred million viewers right now. Hopefully, this situation won’t last,” Babb stated. “If the Voice of America is muzzled, it would certainly please communists, dictators, and ayatollahs who rejoice when their falsehoods go unexposed.”

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