On March 14, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14238, which required the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the parent of Voice of America, to cut itself to the minimum the law requires. The administration said shutting the agency down would cost $153 million in fiscal 2026, Politico reported. Instead, Congress gave USAGM $643 million that year to keep operating.
A State Department Office of Inspector General evaluation dated September 2026 found that “USAGM did not apply key practices during its efforts to reduce operations in response to E.O. 14238.” It said the agency “could not demonstrate that it sufficiently considered the likely costs and benefits of the reforms that it implemented,” and that “The reduction in operations diminished USAGM's capacity to fulfill its core statutory mission.” The inspector general also identified a decline in accountability and in the agency's cybersecurity program, and made six recommendations, which USAGM accepted.
According to the report, as described by Radio Ink, 994 of 1,147 federal employees were placed on administrative leave in March 2025, and 420 remained on paid leave as of July 30, 2026, after an appeals court on March 31 stayed a lower court's return-to-work order. The Washington Post put the cost at an estimated $1.6 million a week, and Politico at $3.2 million every two weeks. Politico reported that the agency is now reinstating canceled contracts, rehiring staff and buying new equipment, and that the report says some decisions meant to save money were being reversed, “incurring additional costs to taxpayers.” Before the cuts VOA broadcast in 49 languages; as of July it broadcast in seven.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said efforts at USAGM “have been a tremendous success.” In March a federal judge ruled that Kari Lake's tenure as acting CEO was unlawful and voided planned layoffs, Radio Ink reported.