WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration appointee overseeing the Voice of America has outlined job cuts that would reduce employment at the state-run news organization from over 1,000 people to 81.
The Voice of America, which has delivered news to countries all over the world for the better part of a century, has been largely silent for two months following an executive order by President Donald Trump. He believes Voice of America, and similar organizations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, have reported with a liberal bias.
Most of VOA’s employees have been on administrative leave since mid-March amid reports that layoff notices were forthcoming.
Kari Lake, who has been overseeing the U.S. Agency for Global Media for Trump, outlined planned employment changes in a letter Tuesday to U.S. Sen. James Risch that was obtained by The Associated Press. Lake said Trump had directed the agency “to reduce the performance of its statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.”
Some VOA employees are fighting for the organization’s survival in court, and one of them — White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara — said Wednesday that it was absurd to think the staff could be cut to the levels Lake is suggesting.
“You can’t make staff this size produce content for a global audience of 360 million weekly,” Widakuswara said. “It’s comical if it weren’t so tragic. We’re not just losing our jobs and journalism, we are abdicating our voice and influence in the world.”
In April, a federal judge ruled that the administration illegally shut down VOA. But an appellate panel later said that a lower court did not have the authority to order that employees be brought back to work, keeping the agency in limbo.
In court papers filed last week, lawyers for Widakuswara and fellow plaintiffs said the administration made a cursory attempt to indicate that VOA was operational by broadcasting five minutes of content to three provinces in Afghanistan on May 27.
The Washington-area building where Voice of America has been operating has been put up for sale, while a lease has been canceled for a new building that the news operation was to move into, the court papers said.
Lake’s letter says the administration wants to keep 33 jobs overseen by her agency that broadcasts news to Cuba, along with two positions each to provide services to China and Afghanistan and in Farsi, the official language of Iran.
Lake announced last month that the pro-Trump news outlet One America News Network had agreed to provide a feed of its newscasts to VOA and other state-run services that broadcast in other countries. It’s not clear whether any OAN feeds have been used yet.
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Bauder reported from New York.
