On August 29, 2025, the Trump administration took a dramatic step to reshape the U.S. government’s global media footprint, issuing layoff notices to more than 500 employees at Voice of America (VOA) and related broadcasters. The move, announced by Kari Lake, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), has sent shockwaves through the media community and sparked renewed legal battles, with critics warning of dire consequences for American influence abroad and the safety of journalists.
Lake’s announcement, delivered late Friday in a statement posted to X, confirmed that 532 full-time government jobs would be eliminated as part of a “reduction in force” (RIF) at President Donald Trump’s direction. The cuts, which reduce VOA’s workforce to about 100 staff members, come despite ongoing court orders and months of legal wrangling. “We are conducting this RIF at the President’s direction to help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money,” Lake wrote. She insisted, “USAGM will continue to fulfill its statutory mission after this RIF—and will likely improve its ability to function and provide the truth to people across the world who live under murderous Communist governments and other tyrannical regimes.”
The timing of the layoffs is striking. Just one day before Lake’s announcement, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth had blocked her from removing Michael Abramowitz, VOA’s director, stating that only a Senate-confirmed advisory board has the authority to do so. Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, described any attempt to fire Abramowitz as “plainly contrary to law.” In a separate ruling on August 25, 2025, the judge found that the administration had failed to show how it was complying with his orders to restore VOA operations after Trump’s earlier attempt to shutter the broadcaster in March. That shutdown was quickly blocked by a temporary restraining order, and in April, Lamberth ruled the move unlawful, ordering funding restored to VOA and other USAGM networks.
Lake herself now faces allegations of behavior “verging on contempt” of court, with Lamberth giving the administration “one final opportunity, short of a contempt trial” to demonstrate compliance. He’s also ordered Lake to sit for a deposition by lawyers for agency employees by September 15, 2025, a move that could further escalate the legal showdown.
The scale of the job cuts is unprecedented in the history of VOA and its sister organizations. In June, layoff notices were already sent to more than 600 agency employees, with Abramowitz and most of the VOA staff placed on administrative leave. Abramowitz was told he would be fired effective August 31. According to a court filing on August 28, the administration planned to send RIF notices to 486 VOA employees and 46 other agency workers, while retaining just 108 VOA employees and 158 agency employees overall. The filing also noted that at the time, USAGM had 137 “active employees” and 62 on administrative leave, while VOA had 86 active employees and 512 on leave.
The USAGM oversees not only VOA, but also Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and Radio Martí, which broadcasts Spanish-language news into Cuba. Together, these networks reach an estimated 427 million people worldwide, a legacy dating back to the Cold War. Their mission: to extend U.S. influence and counter the spread of authoritarianism by sharing news and American perspectives in dozens of languages.
For many, the layoffs represent more than just a bureaucratic shake-up. Michael Abramowitz, VOA’s embattled director, warned in March that dismantling VOA would be a “self-inflicted blow” to American national security. “If America pulls off the playing field and cedes it to our adversaries, then they’re going to be telling the narratives that people around the world are going to be hearing, and that can’t be good for America… They’re going to be hearing an anti-America narrative. We need to fight that with truth,” he said, according to The Guardian. Abramowitz added, “The major challenge for the United States in general is this global information war in which countries like China and Russia are essentially really having our lunch… So, I really feel that we need an organization that is accurate, unbiased, objective, and that tells the truth about America to the rest of the world in the languages that they understand.”
Lake, for her part, remained defiant. “I look forward to taking additional steps in the coming months to improve the functioning of a very broken agency and make sure America’s voice is heard abroad where it matters most,” she wrote. But her critics, including a group of agency employees who sued to block VOA’s elimination, remain unconvinced. “We find Lake’s continued attacks on our agency abhorrent,” they said in a statement. “We are looking forward to her deposition to hear whether her plan to dismantle VOA was done with the rigorous review process that Congress requires. So far we have not seen any evidence of that.” The group vowed, “We will continue to fight for what we believe to be our rights under the law.”
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the nation’s largest public employees’ union, also condemned the move, especially Trump’s recent order stripping union protections from VOA staff. “AFSCME members who fulfill the Congressionally mandated mission to broadcast Voice of America around the globe shine the beacon of freedom on the most oppressive of regimes. Now, because they have been fighting to keep Voice of America’s mission alive, their own voice on the job has been stripped from them. AFSCME will fight this illegal action in court.”
Beyond the legal and political wrangling, the human cost of the cuts looms large. Foreign staff at US-backed media outlets have expressed deep concerns for their safety in the wake of Trump’s efforts to shutter these agencies. Jaewoo Park, a journalist for Radio Free Asia, told The Guardian in March, “We have many co-workers in different services, several of whom came here and sought asylum visas. If their own government knew they worked for RFA and they went back to their own country, their lives would be at risk.” He added, “Authoritarian governments have praised what Trump is doing right now… In Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, there were people who fought for freedom and democracy, and they came to work at RFA. It’s very risky for them. Their lives are in danger if Radio Free Asia doesn’t exist.”
The fate of VOA and its sister networks now hangs in the balance, with the next steps likely to be determined in courtrooms rather than boardrooms. For many, the outcome will not only shape the future of U.S. international broadcasting but also send a message about America’s commitment to free speech, the safety of journalists, and the country’s place in the global information war.
