Katerina Schwartz10:12, 16.03.25

The White House has leveled a number of criticisms at journalists.

As part of his ongoing mission to shrink the federal government, US President Donald Trump has ordered the closure of seven government agencies, including the US Agency for Global Media, the parent organization of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and has placed all employees on furlough, The Wall Street Journal reported , citing a corresponding order from March 14.

It is noted that this organization was created in order to “underline democratic values ​​by providing news in countries where a free press is under threat,” including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Ukraine.

On Saturday, March 15, Voice of America staff reportedly received an email stating they were on administrative leave with pay until further notice.

The White House press service explained why it decided to stop funding Voice of America, making a number of critical remarks about the broadcaster. In particular, it stated that American taxpayers would no longer be “on the hook for radical propaganda.” The White House also reproached several Voice of America reporters for posting anti-Trump comments on their professional accounts on the X social network (formerly Twitter), despite “social media’s impartiality policy.”

Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz responded to Trump’s decision:

“This morning (March 15), I learned that virtually the entire Voice of America staff – more than 1,300 journalists, producers and support staff – has been placed on administrative leave today. So have I.”

In addition, it became known that the Ukrainian editorial office of the Voice of America suspended broadcasting, and all employees were also sent on vacation. This information was confirmed by the director of the Ukrainian service Ruslan Petrichko:

“What will happen next is unknown. The latest polls showed that 99% of our audience trusted the news from the Ukrainian editorial office.”

Other organizations included in Trump’s order were: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, created to resolve labor-management conflicts; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which makes grants to libraries and museums; the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which promotes access to capital and local economic growth; and the Minority Business Development Agency.

(C)UNIAN 2025

Let us recall that UNIAN previously wrote that the United States decided to close 83% of the programs of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) , US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported: 

“The 5,200 contracts that are now being canceled represented tens of billions of dollars spent in ways that did not serve (and in some cases even harmed) the core national interests of the United States.”