CBS News confirmed that multiple sources confirm that all full-time employees of the government-funded Voice of America – the country’s largest international radio broadcaster – were informed on Saturday they had been placed in administrative leave.
Crystal G. Thomas emailed the employees to let them know. The Agency of Global Affairs Media oversees VOA, as well as several other state-funded agencies such Radio Free Asia.
A source at VOA confirmed to CBS News that the notice was sent out to “all full-time VOA staff,” including journalists and “all of the way up to Senior Managers,” but not to contract employees whose contracts expire in June.
A second source told CBS News later that VOA contractors who work full-time also received the same administrative emails as federal employees. All employees were unable to access VOA’s headquarters in Washington D.C. as of Saturday.
Source: All VOA freelancers, stringers, and monthly contract or assignment workers worldwide must stop working as there is no way of paying them.
When some VOA employees received the notice, they were walking towards their studios and were told to “Go home” instead.
This move follows President Trump’s late-Friday executive order which seeks to make major cuts at USAGM and other agencies including the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The order states that “Such entities must reduce their performance of statutory functions, and the associated personnel, to the minimum required by law.”
Michael Abramowitz said, “I’m deeply saddened by the fact that the Voice of America has been silenced for the first time since 83 years,” in a statement released to CBS News on Saturday. “I found out this morning that almost the entire Voice of America staff — more than 1,300 journalists and producers, as well as support staff — has been placed on administrative leaves today. “So have I.”
Abramowitz admitted that the agency needed “thoughtful Reform, and we’ve made progress in this regard. Voice of America will be unable to fulfill its mission due to today’s decision. This mission is particularly important today, as America’s enemies, such as Iran, China and Russia, spend billions of dollars to create false narratives in order to discredit the United States.
VOA began broadcasting in the year 1942. It reaches 361 millions people worldwide, in 49 languages. Some regions are “deeply underrepresented.” Before Saturday’s actions, VOA had approximately 2,000 employees with an annual budget of $260 million.
One VOA journalist, who received the notice on Saturday, told CBS News that “the American people deserve to be informed.” He added that this was another example of how the U.S. is “losing soft-power” to Russia and China.
In December, Trump announced that Republican Kari Lake was his choice to be the director of Voice of America. She had run unsuccessful campaigns for governor of Arizona and senator in Arizona.
“I’m certain they’re already doing some great things.” In a CBS News interview in December, Lake stated that he had been doing a bit of looking around. “I am not there to create MAGA TV or Trump TV. This is not about that. Voice of America does not exist.
In February, however, he stated that Lake would be a special advisor in the agency. If VOA were to dissolve, it’s not clear what Lake’s position would be.
