Overview

• Kari Lake, senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, sent termination notices to 639 VOA and USAGM employees, reducing the combined workforce to fewer than 200 by September 1.
• The cuts implement President Trump’s March 14 executive order to shrink USAGM to its statutory minimum by targeting alleged dysfunction, bias and waste.
• Roughly 75 Persian Service journalists recalled for Israel-Iran conflict coverage also received layoff notices, highlighting the administration’s broad reduction drive.
• Journalists and former VOA executives have filed lawsuits challenging the mass firings, arguing the administration overstepped its constitutional authority and statutory mandates.
• Observers warn that slashing independent foreign-language broadcasts will leave a void that Russia, China and Iran could fill with propaganda.