The Voice of Radical America

Press Releases

TLDR

This press release is for an executive order that targets seven federal agencies including USAGM (which oversees Voice of America), requiring elimination of non-statutory components and reduction of statutory functions to minimum legal requirements. VOA employees were placed on immediate paid leave. The White House characterizes VOA as “radical propaganda” with leftist bias, though this claim conflicts with documented Trump administration interference with VOA’s independence during his first term. International press freedom organizations have condemned the action as threatening global press freedom.

President Trump’s recent executive order targeting several federal agencies, including Voice of America (VOA), represents a significant reduction in government functions under the guise of eliminating “unnecessary” bureaucracy.

On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy” that targets seven federal agencies, including the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America. The order mandates these agencies to eliminate all non-statutory components and reduce statutory functions to the “minimum presence and function required by law”.

The practical impact was immediate - just one day after signing, VOA employees were placed on paid leave. The order requires agency heads to submit reports within 7 days confirming compliance and explaining which functions are statutorily required.

The White House press release frames VOA as a “radical propaganda” outlet with leftist bias. However, this characterization misrepresents VOA’s complex history and oversight.

Selective Evidence: The press release cherry-picks incidents and quotes to portray VOA as systematically biased, while ignoring VOA’s established editorial independence requirements and oversight mechanisms.

Misrepresented Context: The Hunter Biden laptop controversy reference omits that by 2023, no evidence had surfaced supporting claims it was Russian disinformation, but also that investigations by Republican committees did not find wrongdoing by Joe Biden regarding Ukraine.

Contradictory Evidence: While claiming VOA is leftist propaganda, the press release ignores documented instances of Trump administration interference with VOA’s independence:

  • In 2020, Trump-appointed USAGM CEO Michael Pack was found to have engaged in gross mismanagement, including spending $1.6 million on an unnecessary contract and failing to respect journalistic independence.
  • Pack removed senior officials who opposed what was described as “gross mismanagement”.
  • A federal judge found Pack violated First Amendment rights of VOA journalists.

The referenced executive order continues a pattern of targeting VOA that began during Trump’s first term. In 2020, Biden had pledged to fire Pack if elected, and now Trump is effectively gutting the agency through budget restrictions.

The press release’s claims about VOA’s bias must be viewed alongside documented attempts to influence VOA’s coverage during Trump’s first administration, including the suspension of officials who later sued the agency for using VOA to “promote the personal agenda of President Trump”.

International press freedom organizations have condemned the move, with Reporters Without Borders stating it “threatens press freedom globally” and “negates 80 years of American history supporting a free flow of information”.

The White House March 15, 2025

President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on Friday will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.

Dan Robinson, a 34-year veteran of Voice of America and its former White House correspondent, wrote last year: “I have monitored the agency’s bureaucracy along with many of its reporters and concluded that it has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media. It has sought to avoid accountability for violations of journalistic standards and mismanagement.”

  • Voice of America’s management told staff not to call Hamas and its members terrorists, “except when quoting statements.”
  • Daily Caller: “Multiple Voice Of America Reporters Have Posted Anti-Trump Content On Social Media”
    • “Multiple Voice of America (VOA) reporters have repeatedly posted anti-Trump comments on their professional Twitter accounts, despite a social media policy requiring employee impartiality on social media platforms.”
  • Rep. Scott Perry wrote in a 2022 letter that Voice of America has “grown exceedingly partisan over the past several years.”
    • A 2016 report from Office of Personnel Management cited by Rep. Perry revealed that Voice of America Persian employees said that outlet tolerated “coercion for partisan political purposes.”
    • The Washington Free Beacon: “VOA Misallocates Funds and Suppresses Negative Stories About Iran. This Lawmaker Wants To Investigate.”
  • Voice of America: “What Is ‘White Privilege’ and Whom Does It Help?”
    • “Today, the phrase is used passionately and widely in the context of racial profiling — police treatment of people as criminal suspects based on their race.”
  • A 2022 lawsuit claimed Voice of America has “been infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic state interests, and that the message of VOA had been compromised in a manner that was biased toward the Islamic state factions in Iran.”
  • In October 2020, Voice of America wrote that the “allegations that Russia played a role in perpetuating the scandal to benefit Trump could undermine the emails’ credibility” downplaying the validity of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
  • In July 2020, Voice of America faced criticism for “sharing a story and video appearing too favorable to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.”
  • In September 2019, the Daily Caller reported that Voice of America employed a Russian anti-U.S. propagandist.
  • In May 2019, Voice of America fired reporters for their roles in canceling a broadcast midstream after pressure from the Chinese government.
  • In March 2019, Voice of America ran a segment about transgender migrants seeking asylum in the United States.