Overview

• Kari Lake told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. Agency for Global Media is “rotten to the core” and must be trimmed to its mandated functions by fiscal 2026.
• Under President Trump’s executive order, Lake has overseen the elimination of about 1,400 positions since March and last week issued layoff notices to most of Voice of America’s remaining staff.
• She highlighted VOA’s role in broadcasting the president’s Farsi message to Iranians during recent bombings and alleged that foreign influence and mismanagement undermine its reporting.
• Democrats on the committee rebuked Lake’s unsubstantiated claims and cautioned that dismantling USAGM would surrender critical soft-power tools to rivals such as China and Iran.
• President Trump backed her efforts on Truth Social, calling VOA a “TOTAL, LEFTWING DISASTER” and urging Congress to “KILL IT.”