Kari Lake Fires 500+ Staff at VOA Parent Agency

The Trump administration has laid off more than 500 employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, in what is the latest move toward dismantling the taxpayer-funded news agency entirely.

Kari Lake, who was selected by President Donald Trump as senior adviser to USAGM, announced the layoffs in a statement on Friday night.

“Tonight, the U.S. Agency for Global Media initiated what is known as a reduction in force, or RIF, of a large number of its full-time federal employees. 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,” she said.

Overall, 532 employees received the termination notices, with their contracts expiring on Sept. 30.

Lake indicated that USAGM, which oversees news networks like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, will still “fulfill its statutory mission” after these layoffs.

“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 added.

The move is in accordance with a Trump executive order from March that ordered the reduction of various federal agencies to the “minimum presence and function required by law.”

Near the top of that list is USAGM, which Lake has previously blasted as “deeply corrupt” and a purveyor of “politically biased” information.

USAGM wasn’t founded until 1999, but VOA, which it later assumed authority over, was established in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda.

Lake has targeted that network as well, placing hundreds of its employees, including its director, on administrative leave earlier this year.

Just ahead of Labor Day weekend, the Trump administration was handed a legal setback in that move, with a judge ordering VOA Director Michael Abramowitz’s reinstatement until he can be lawfully removed by the broadcaster’s board, which Trump dismissed back in January.