Trump Signs Order to Abolish 8 Federal Agencies, Including the Parent Organization of VOA

March 16, 2025 TruthUSA

Kari Lake, the nominee for VOA, instructed staff on Saturday to check their emails ‘immediately.’

On late Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling eight federal agencies, continuing his earlier directive to remove parts of the federal bureaucracy perceived as “unnecessary.”

The president’s order issued on March 14 directs the agencies to eliminate all functions not required by law, reduce staff, and minimize statutory roles to the least extent mandated by legislation.

Agency leaders have been given seven days to inform the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) about their compliance or provide justification for any remaining functions.

According to a White House fact sheet, the cuts are intended to “enhance accountability, reduce waste, and promote innovation.”

The fact sheet further highlights that eliminating the eight agencies will improve government efficiency, save taxpayer dollars, and “drain the swamp.”

Trump’s directive identifies seven agencies for elimination: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, United States Agency for Global Media, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Institute of Museum and Library Services, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency.

The White House fact sheet lists the Arctic Research Commission as the eighth entity set to be phased out.

The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for confirmation regarding the status of the Arctic Research Commission under Trump’s latest order.

The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia, has been in Trump’s sights since his first term. Operating with an annual budget of about $900 million, it broadcasts in over 60 languages across roughly 100 countries, and Trump’s allies have criticized it for having a liberal bias.

The president has nominated Brent Bozell, a conservative media watchdog, to lead the USAGM, pending Senate confirmation.

Additionally, Kari Lake, a former news anchor and Arizona gubernatorial candidate, has been selected to oversee VOA. In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, she acknowledged the calls for the dismantling of VOA but expressed her belief in its potential for improvement.

She was sworn in as a senior adviser for the USAGM on March 3, pending further developments regarding her VOA nomination.

On Saturday, Lake stated in a social media post that Trump’s recent executive order will affect VOA’s operations, urging staff to check their emails “immediately.” Already, several VOA staff members have been placed on administrative leave with full pay and benefits “until otherwise notified.” The total number of affected employees remains unclear.

This latest executive order follows Trump’s earlier directive on February 19 to shrink the federal government, eliminate non-essential agencies and advisory committees, and reduce statutory functions to the minimum required by law.

These measures are part of Trump’s ongoing efforts to reshape the federal bureaucracy for greater efficiency. He has appointed tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to spearhead this initiative as a special government employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The DOGE initiative has already pointed towards potential cuts exceeding 100,000 jobs among the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce, freezing foreign aid, and cancelling thousands of contracts and programs, yielding an estimated savings of $115 billion for taxpayers.

Trump has pledged that he and members of his administration will seek ways to cut federal expenditures and implement reforms at a “historic level,” aiming for DOGE to delineate $2 trillion in wasteful spending by its intended closure on Independence Day in 2026.

A recent Epoch Times poll revealed significant support for DOGE and its operations among readers, many of whom called for increased public access to its findings, along with accountability for any abusive, fraudulent, or wasteful spending of taxpayer money it uncovers.

Source link