Voice of America is a U.S. government-funded international broadcaster that has delivered news to audiences worldwide since World War II, when it began telling stories about American democracy to people living under Nazi Germany.
Today the outlet operates alongside sister services including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Radio Martí under the U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM. Together, those networks reach an estimated 427 million people each week across dozens of languages.
Congress appropriated about $260 million for VOA operations in the current fiscal year. By law, the VOA Charter requires the organization to provide accurate, balanced and independent journalism rather than serve as a government propaganda arm.
President Donald Trump has moved aggressively in his second term to dismantle or fundamentally reshape the outlet and its parent agency, arguing that VOA and similar broadcasters promote a liberal editorial bias.
Trump installed political ally Kari Lake, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for Arizona governor, in a leadership role at USAGM while seeking to overhaul the organization. Lake has described the agency as “rotten to the core” and “riddled with dysfunction, bias and waste,” casting the changes as a long-overdue effort to reform what she called a bloated taxpayer-funded bureaucracy.
The administration moved quickly after Trump returned to office in early 2025. Beginning March 15, most VOA employees were placed on administrative leave, effectively silencing much of the broadcaster’s programming and social media output. In June, layoff notices were sent to 639 employees at VOA and USAGM. Lake said roughly 1,400 employees — about 85% of the agency’s workforce — had lost their jobs as part of the cuts.
Plans outlined by Lake would reduce VOA’s staff from more than 1,000 people to just 81 employees.
Other changes followed as the agency scaled back operations. VOA canceled contracts with major international news services including The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Lake also announced that the conservative One America News Network had offered to provide its news and video feed free of charge for VOA and other USAGM outlets.
The sweeping changes triggered multiple lawsuits from VOA journalists and employees who argued the administration was unlawfully dismantling a congressionally funded news organization.
Federal courts have repeatedly intervened. In the latest ruling, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said Trump lacked the authority to install Lake as acting head of USAGM under the federal Vacancies Act, voiding actions she took while exercising that authority. Lamberth has also questioned whether the administration improperly withheld money Congress appropriated for VOA and criticized officials for giving what he called “cagey answers” about the agency’s future.
The legal fight over the fate of Voice of America remains ongoing.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times’ AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times’ original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
