President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America and other government-run, pro-democracy programming as the president continued his campaign to restructure government without congressional approval. 

On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. 

On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, the unsuccessful Arizona gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate whom Trump named a senior advisor to the agency, posted on X that employees should check their email. That coincided with notices going out placing Voice of America staff on paid administrative leave. 

The agency also sent notices terminating grants to Radio Free Asia and other programming run by the agency. Voice of America transmits United States domestic news into other countries, often translated into local languages. Radio Free Asia, Europe and Marti beam news into countries with authoritarian regimes in those regions like China, North Korea and Russia. 

Combined, the networks reach an estimated 427 million people. They date back to the Cold War and are part of a network of government-funded organizations trying to extend U.S. power and combat authoritarianism that includes USAID, another agency targeted by Trump. Critics have questioned the objectivity and credibility the agency’s programing. 

The latest reductions are especially provocative because the Agency for Global Media is an independent agency chartered by Congress, which passed a law in 2020 limiting the power of the agency’s presidentially appointed executives. Trump has already taken several moves to gut congressionally mandated programs, setting up a potential Supreme Court showdown over the limits of presidential power. 

Brought to you by www.srnnews.com