Overview

• Kari Lake sent termination notices to 639 USAGM and Voice of America employees, cutting the workforce by 85 percent.
• The layoffs reduce staff across USAGM, Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting to under 250, with a plan to retain only 81 employees.
• Lake defended the mass firings as a necessary step to eliminate “dysfunction, bias and waste” and streamline operations to the statutory minimum.
• Plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit describe the cuts as the demise of 83 years of independent journalism that upheld U.S. democratic ideals.
• Lake is slated to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee as litigation continues over the legality of the agency’s downsizing.