Senior Adviser for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Kari Lake announced Monday on Newsmax that Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S. government-funded international broadcasters will be reduced to their statutory minimum under an executive order issued by former President Donald Trump.
Speaking on "Finnerty," Lake said USAGM, which oversees VOA, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and other international media outlets, has deviated from its mission of effectively sharing the American story with global audiences.
"It hasn't been right; it hasn't been doing its core mission, which is to spread the American story very well," Lake said. She referenced a recent VOA broadcast, saying, "I happen to tune in not too long ago to see a graphic that showed President Trump with a swastika over his mouth. I mean, this is just typical stuff that you might see. And it's unfortunate because its mission really was a great mission."
Lake said Trump's executive order, issued late Friday night, directs the agency to scale down to its statutory minimum. "That would include reducing the size of VOA and many other outlets," she said. "We've already canceled the grants for several of our grantees, including Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Company, and others."
When asked what the statutory minimum entails, Lake said the agency is still determining the specifics.
"We have a lot of lawyers who are looking at the statute to determine what is the minimum," she said. "Like so many things in the government, it starts out as a statute, and it starts out kind of small. And then every year it grows and grows and grows."
She noted the agency's budget has ballooned to about $1 billion. "And so, it is a massive budget, and we have to cut our government. There's just no if's, and's, or but's about it. We will lose this country if we remain to be in the kind of debt we're in," she said.
While acknowledging the difficulty of job cuts, Lake framed the reductions as necessary. "It's always difficult to cut people, you know, but this is survival for our country," she said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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