Trump freezes VOA, other US-funded media outlets

WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of staffers at Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets received a weekend email that they will be barred from their offices and should surrender press passes and equipment, local media reported Saturday.

The cuts followed an executive order by US President Donald Trump on Friday, which listed US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of "unnecessary" federal bureaucracy.

USAGM, VOA's parent agency, employs about 3,500 staff and has an $886 million budget for 2024, according to its latest report to Congress.

The agency has severed all contracts for the privately incorporated international broadcasters it funds, including Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, local media reported.

VOA director Michael Abramowitz said on social media that nearly his entire staff of 1,300 journalists, producers and assistants had been put on administrative leave.

The White House said the cuts would ensure "taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda."

Reports indicated that the decision is expected to face challenges, as Congress, not the president, has the constitutional power of the purse.