The notorious Voice of America continues to exist despite its notorious reputation. After Trump attempted to shut it down, now the U.S. government is trying to reinstate it.
According to Politico, the Trump administration last year began to significantly cut down on federal agencies related to Voice of America, claiming that this was necessary to eliminate waste and streamline government institutions. However, the U.S. Congress allocated $643 million for the fiscal year 2026 to keep these agencies operating.
The agency that received this funding is the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America. This agency is currently restructuring various operations that were dismantled during the early period of Trump’s second term in office.
The latest report from the US State Department’s oversight department indicates that the reconstruction efforts include restoring canceled contracts, rehiring employees, and purchasing new equipment. At the same time, 420 employees are on paid leave, and an annual salary of $3.2 million is required to be paid to them every two weeks.
The report states that before the cuts, Voice of America broadcast programs in 49 languages to nearly 100 countries. After the cuts, only 7 languages remain.
The report indicates that initial layoffs and cost cuts by these organizations have led to American-funded broadcasting stations stopping providing programs in “strategic locations” such as Iran, China, Afghanistan, North Korea, Russia, and Ukraine for at least several months.
As of July, some language programs on Voice of America have resumed, but the intensity of certain content has decreased compared to before. For example, Voice of America only resumed Mandarin broadcasts for programs related to China; previously, the organization also provided Cantonese and Tibetan programs.
The exterior of the Voice of America building. The New York Times.
This oversight report does not account for the total costs incurred from the shutdown of these agencies and subsequent legal proceedings. The related lawsuits are still under consideration by the court. However, the report indicates that some of the policies implemented by the Trump administration, which were intended to save money, have been overturned, “resulting in additional costs for taxpayers.”
The investigation reveals that during the federal government’s cost-cutting measures led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the original intention of saving costs instead led to new expenditures. Hasty layoffs, poorly planned project terminations, and the relocation of offices also impaired the agency's core functions.
The report states that USAGM failed to demonstrate that it has ‘fully evaluated the potential costs and benefits of the related measures’ before scaling back its staff and operations significantly.
The report also stated that this round of cuts has weakened USAGM’s ability to fulfill its “legal core mission,” which is to “inform, communicate, and build connections with global audiences, and promote ideas of freedom and democracy.”
Regarding this, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement: "President Trump was elected to eliminate all kinds of waste, corruption, and abuse within the federal government. USAGM's efficiency improvement reforms have been a great success."
In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order requiring USAGM to eliminate non-legal functions and reduce the remaining operations and staff to the minimum required by law. The process of eliminating these functions began almost immediately.
The next day, USAGM arranged paid administrative leave for most employees and began to terminate various funding programs, canceling a large number of contracts.
In June 2025, the Trump administration once again informed the U.S. Congress that it plans to eliminate almost all remaining employees of Voice of America. As part of the proposed reorganization, the number of employees at Voice of America will be reduced from approximately 1400 journalists and administrative staff to 18 people.
At that time, USAGM clearly described these measures as protecting the interests of taxpayers. In its statement announcing the restructuring plan, the agency claimed it was “irreparable,” and described the layoff plan as a burden for taxpayers.
In the related layoffs, over 1,000 employees of Voice of America were given paid administrative leave, with all their salaries and benefits paid out. The measures to lay off employees and terminate funding have also led to several lawsuits, and some of these measures have subsequently been revoked or adjusted.
American Voice’s former White House division president, Patti VidaGuvara, said: "It is outrageous that taxpayers are being wasted with this absurd amount of money. What is even more distressing is that we are destroying our own soft power. How can we lose 360 million viewers?"
She was granted administrative leave last year, and she was also one of the main plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed to recall employees from Voice of America. She complained, "The trust of the audience is something that has been built up over decades of work by thousands of Voice of America journalists. Now, that trust has completely disappeared."
The report mentions that it has been over a year and a half since the layoffs began. Supervisory authorities are demanding that USAGM complete the planning work that is usually carried out before major reorganizations.
The audit report makes six recommendations, including: clearly defining the legal responsibilities of institutions, setting quantifiable goals, developing strategic plans, conducting human resource planning, and ensuring the continuous operation of core businesses. USAGM has indicated its acceptance of these recommendations.
According to the data, USAGM, as the regulator of foreign news agencies funded by the U.S. government, is responsible for managing several U.S.-funded foreign media organizations, including Voice of America, Free Asia Radio, Free Europe Radio, Middle East Broadcasting Network, Cuban Broadcasting Company, and the Open Technology Fund, which supports projects related to ‘net freedom’.
Nominally, they claim to aim to tell “American stories” to the world and promote “democracy and freedom”. In reality, they often engage in public opinion warfare against countries that are competitors of the United States. Besides inciting trouble and interfering in other countries’ internal affairs around the world, they sometimes even advocate for “color revolutions”.
In fact, since 2020, during his first term in office, Trump has repeatedly targeted Voice of America, claiming that it spent taxpayer money on reporting that failed to tell the ‘American story’, and also accused it of ‘propagating propaganda for China’. On April 15, 2020, Trump directly referred to Voice of America during a press conference, describing its reports as ‘repulsive’.
On March 18, 2025, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning presided over a regular press conference. A Bloomberg reporter asked that U.S. President Donald Trump will shut down agencies such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. Chinese media reported that Voice of America is a “lie factory” that incites conflict. What is the spokesperson's comment on this?
"I don’t comment on reports by Chinese media, nor do I comment on adjustments to U.S. domestic policies. But I believe that the American media you mentioned have a poor record when it comes to reporting on China-related issues, and that’s not a secret." said Mao Ning.
