Trump enforces mass VOA layoffs, 600 employees terminated
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The Trump administration has terminated over 600 employees at Voice of America and USAGM, days after VOA kickstarted its coverage of the Israeli war on Iran, sparking accusations of censorship and media suppression.
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This is the Voice of America building in Washington D.C., on Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP)
The Trump administration has terminated 639 employees at Voice of America (VOA) and its parent agency, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
The layoffs are the latest in a series of cuts that have reduced the agency to a shadow of its former size. Since March, the Trump administration has eliminated 1,400 positions at USAGM, leaving only 250 employees to operate what was once a key instrument for promoting democratic values worldwide.
“For decades, American taxpayers have been forced to bankroll an agency that’s been riddled with dysfunction, bias, and waste. That ends now,” said Kari Lake, Trump’s senior advisor to USAGM, in Friday’s announcement. The cuts follow a March executive order signed by President Trump targeting what he called bloated federal bureaucracies.
“It spells the death of 83 years of independent journalism that upholds US ideals of democracy and freedom around the world,” said VOA journalists Patsy Widakuswara, Jessica Jerreat, and Kate Neeper, who are pursuing legal action against the cuts.
VOA and its affiliated institutions have long been considered the US' propaganda arm, particularly directed at the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and post-Soviet states and the Arab-Islamic world since the 90s.
Federal courts have allowed the Trump administration to move forward with the terminations while legal proceedings are ongoing. USAGM introduced a voluntary departure program called “Fork in the Road,” with 163 employees opting for buyouts to avoid forced termination.
The Trump administration’s broader campaign against the federal workforce includes thousands of terminations at the IRS, Social Security Administration, USAID, and departments of education, health, and agriculture.
Kari Lake, who now leads USAGM, has floated plans to replace VOA's journalism with free programming from One America News Network (OANN), a right-wing pro-Trump outlet. The only part of USAGM left untouched is the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, where all 33 employees remain.
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