Trump wants to axe more than 500 US state press workers

(MENAFN) President Donald Trump has directed the elimination of over 500 positions at U.S. state-funded media organizations, marking another step in his administration’s push to reduce what it views as bloated or politically biased government operations.

On Friday, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees broadcasters such as Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, announced the planned cuts affecting 532 jobs. The agency had a budget of roughly $882 million in 2024.


USAGM’s acting chief executive, Kari Lake, said the move would trim government bureaucracy, enhance agency performance, and save taxpayer money. While she didn’t specify which departments would be hit hardest, Lake emphasized the agency’s mission to deliver truthful reporting to people living under authoritarian regimes.

This follows previous layoffs announced in June, when over 600 employees received notices. VOA director Michael Abramowitz was suspended and later terminated. Court filings revealed that 486 of the targeted positions were within VOA.

However, last week, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Abramowitz’s dismissal had not followed proper legal procedures.

Voice of America, founded in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda and later used by the CIA during the Cold War, has come under intense criticism from Trump. He has called it a “Democrat mouthpiece” and a “leftwing disaster,” and recently urged Republicans to shut it down entirely.

VOA has also faced external backlash—Russia revoked its radio license in 2014 and fully banned the broadcaster in 2022, accusing it of biased reporting on the Ukraine war.

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