US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at downsizing the state-owned media arm that includes the Voice of America and six other federal agencies, in the latest step by his administration to reduce bureaucracy.
The order signed yesterday directs agencies - mostly little-known organizations including one that provides funding for museums and libraries and one that works with the homeless - to reduce their operations to the legal minimum, Reuters reports.
"This order continues the reduction of elements of the federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary," the order, released late last night, said.
Trump, who clashed with Voice of America during his first term, chose former radio journalist Carrie Lake to be the director of the agency in his second term. Lake, a staunch ally of the president, has often accused the mainstream media of being anti-Trump.
The Voice of America (VOA), an international media outlet that operates in more than 40 languages online, on radio, and on television, is overseen by the US Agency for Global Media. The agency also funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.
In addition to the Global Media Agency, Trump's order of cuts also includes the Federal Mediation and Reconciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the American Interagency Council on the Homeless, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Enterprise Development Agency.
The order states that these agencies should eliminate all operations not written into the statute as well as reduce the performance of their functions under the statute and staff to the minimum presence required by law.
This is Trump's latest move to reshape the federal bureaucracy, a task he has largely entrusted to tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). So far, actions through Musk's department have led to the potential reduction of more than 100.000 jobs within the federal workforce of 2,3 million, a freeze on foreign aid, and the cancellation of thousands of programs and contracts.
Some Republicans have accused Voice of America and other publicly funded media outlets of being biased against conservatives. Last month, Musk called on his X network to shut down Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Carrie Lake said she understands calls to completely shut down the Voice of America, but believes the media outlet can be fixed.
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