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Kari Lake, the acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America (VOA), announced Friday that 532 government positions have been eliminated.
Lake has been tasked with restructuring USAGM and its affiliated broadcasters after President Donald Trump’s March 14 executive order, which aimed to dismantle USAGM operations. But Trump’s order has faced legal hurdles, and a federal judge blocked Lake from firing Michael Abramowitz as Voice of America’s director last week.
As Americans headed into Labor Day Weekend, Lake announced her latest plans.
“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,” Lake wrote in a memo that she posted on social media.
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“USAGM will continue to fulfill its statutory mission after this RIF — and will likely improve its ability to function and provide the truth to people across the world who live under murderous Communist governments and other tyrannical regimes,” Lake continued. “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.”
The Washington Post reported that “multiple recipients” of the memo said the termination date is Sept. 30.
The move is the latest attempt to dismantle VOA, an international broadcaster originally created to combat enemy propaganda during World War II.
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VOA White House Bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, one of the lead plaintiffs suing Lake over her attempts to shutter VOA, issued a statement about the memo.
“We find Lake’s continued attacks on our agency abhorrent. We are looking forward to her deposition to hear whether her plan to dismantle VOA was done with the rigorous review process that Congress requires,” Widakuswara said.
“So far we have not seen any evidence of that, and as such we will continue to fight for what we believe to be our rights under the law,” she continued.
Trump’s executive order led to the administrative leave of about 1,300 VOA employees and the termination of numerous contracts, effectively pausing the broadcaster’s activities for the first time in its 83-year history.
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Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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