Former US President Donald Trump took action on Saturday to remove journalists from Voice of America (VOA) and other US-funded broadcasters. His administration aimed to reduce federal agencies.
Hundreds of reporters and staff at VOA, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe received an email over the weekend. It informed them that they could no longer access their offices. They were told to return press passes, office-issued phones, and other equipment.
Trump had already cut funding to the US aid agency and the Department of Education. On Friday, he signed an executive order labelling the US Agency for Global Media as “unnecessary.”
Kari Lake, a strong Trump supporter and former news anchor, now leads the media agency. She informed media outlets that federal grants would no longer support agency priorities.
White House press official Harrison Fields posted “goodbye” in 20 languages on X. His message appeared to reference VOA’s multilingual news coverage.
