Overview

• In interviews with right-wing hosts, Lake threatened to deport former J-1 visa staff, saying she would accompany them to the airport if necessary.
• Since President Trump’s March executive order, the agency has placed most staff on leave, cut roughly 85% of positions; halted broadcasts in dozens of languages.
• Federal judges have issued orders criticizing the administration’s partial compliance with restoration mandates; imposed temporary restraining orders on further dismissals.
• Dozens of displaced J-1 visa holders face a 30-day deadline to depart or apply for asylum; some have already left the United States.
• Advocates warn that politicizing Voice of America by outsourcing content to outlets like OAN threatens U.S. public diplomacy; they caution this shift could jeopardize independent reporting abroad.