By Matthew Holloway |
Under Senior Advisor of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Kari Lake, the agency is terminating over 500 contractor roles by June 30th and is continuing efforts to sell its million-square-foot facility in Washington, D.C., despite an ongoing legal challenge.
Lake said in a statement posted to X, “In accordance with President Trump’s executive order dated March 14, we are in the process of rightsizing the agency and reducing the federal bureaucracy to meet administration priorities. We will continue to scale back the bloat at USAGM and make an archaic dinosaur into something worthy of being funded by hardworking Americans.”
She added, “Buckle up. There’s more to come.”
As reported by The Washington Post, the move is opposed by Biden-appointee Voice of America (VOA) Director Michael Abramowitz who told the outlet he is “heartbroken” over the downsizing.
“I find this action inexplicable, and to my knowledge, no rationale has been provided by USAGM for this decision,” he wrote in a statement to the Post. “We will continue to make efforts to help individual PSCs, especially those who face possible return to hostile countries, in any and every way we can during this difficult time.”
According to Lake, a total of 584 employees have been terminated across the board at USAGM including the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Without specifically stating the breakdown by department, she noted that the majority were from VOA. Many of the terminations will affect different language services under the VOA aegis, and if upheld, could result in the termination of dozens of J-1 visas for foreign-born journalists who would face 30-day deadlines to leave the United States.
Steve Herman, a VOA national correspondent-turned-spokesman for the lawsuits against USAGM, told the outlet, “Among those affected (by the terminations) are J-1 visa holders who will be forced to leave the country in 30 days. Several of these journalists come from countries where they could be arrested or worse because of their objective reporting for VOA.”
As part of a raft of cost-saving measures, Lake announced in early May that One America News Network will provide news-feed services to the network of outlets under the USAGM including the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Martí, and Voice of America.
Lake explained at the time, “This idea came about after OCB suggested we explore OAN as a newsfeed option for the Miami-based, U.S. Government-funded news operation broadcasting to Cuba. At their suggestion, I reached out to OAN, and they offered to provide their newsfeed and video service free-of-charge. This is an enormous benefit to the American taxpayer, who is the sole-source of funding for USAGM’s news outlets, which broadcast only to international audiences.”
Lake clarified her USAGM role at the time saying, “In my current role as Senior Advisor to USAGM, I don’t have editorial control over the content of VOA and OCB programming, but I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs. And every day I look for ways to save American taxpayers money. Bringing in OAN as a video/news source does both. OAN is one of the few family-owned American media networks left in the United States. We are grateful for their generosity.” As previously reported by AZ Free News, Lake announced the cancellation of “obscene over-spending including a nearly quarter-of-a-billion-dollar lease for a Pennsylvania Avenue high-rise that has no broadcasting facilities to meet the needs of the agency and included a $9 million commission to a private real estate agent with connections.”
The sale of the existing headquarters for VOA, in use since 1954, was to take place shortly after the agency moved into the newly leased building by order of former President Biden. However, in addition to canceling that lease, Lake has also begun efforts to sell VOA’s existing studio space, listing the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building as “identified for accelerated disposition,” with the U.S. General Services Administration.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
