Trump dismantles Voice of America's parent company

The Trump administration announced the dismantling of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), parent of Voice of America (VOA), among other government-funded media outlets. The measure is aimed at pursuing "the reduction of the federal bureaucracy."

This Friday, Donald Trump signed an executive order to reduce the functions of USAGM to the minimum required by law in order to "enhance accountability, reduce waste, and promote innovation."

The executive order also affects other federal agencies, such as, for example, the Institute of Museum and Library Services or the Small Business Development Agency.

"The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already identified billions in waste, fraud, and abuse. Cutting these governmental entities will save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending, and streamline government priorities," the White House stressed in a statement.

Kari Lake, a senior adviser to USAGM, released a video detailing "waste" within the agency.

Cancellation of contracts with AP, AFP and Reuters

Before the executive order signed by Trump was made public, the USAGM cancelled the contracts it had with different media agencies, including the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP), so journalists would have to stop using their material.

"I moved today to cancel expensive and unnecessary newswire contracts for US Agency for Global Media, including tens-of-millions of dollars in contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse," Lake confirmed. "USAGM is an American taxpayer funded News Organization with an 83-year history. We should not be paying outside news companies to tell us what the news is—with nearly a billion-dollar budget, we should be producing news ourselves."