The Trump administration’s choice to oversee government-run news outlets like Voice of America told a congressional committee on Wednesday that “it’s best to just scrap the whole thing and start over.”
Kari Lake, the former Arizona newscaster turned Republican politician, testified that the U.S. Agency for Global Media is “rotten to the core” and that any salvageable parts should be put under the control of the U.S. State Department.
Lake appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee days after layoff notices were sent to hundreds of employees at the agency and Voice of America, cutting its staff by 85%. With politicians speaking over and around each other, the hearing amounted to a debate on what role journalism should have in spreading American influence abroad.
Lake said she is following President Donald Trump’s directive to cut the dozens of outlets to the core, with most already shut down or sharply curtailed. She characterized many broadcasts as anti-American or promoting liberal bias, pointing to efforts by Chinese government representatives in the U.S. to influence Mandarin-language content on Radio Free Asia.
Trump backs up Lake via social media post
The agency is investigating threatening phone calls to a member of Congress from inside Voice of America, Lake said, hinting — but not saying outright — that the target was a Republican.
Trump backed her up via a Truth Social post on Wednesday: “Why would a Republican want Democrat ‘mouthpiece’ Voice of America (VOA) to continue? It’s a TOTAL, LEFTWING DISASTER — No Republican should vote for its survival. KILL IT!”
A congressionally-mandated firewall “makes it impossible for agency management to prevent biased, anti-American or rogue reporting,” Lake said. The “firewall” she refers to has been in place since 1994, prohibiting any interference by a U.S. government official in the independent reporting of news.
Separate from the hearing, VOA director Mike Abramowitz, who is out on administrative leave, said he’s aware of no rogue journalists spreading misinformation. Reporters who make mistakes are corrected, he said, and those who violate standards are disciplined.
Since Voice of America’s inception in World War II, the outlets have operated under the theory that objective news reports delivered to citizens whose own governments resist such freedoms is a “soft power” way to promote the nation’s interests.
“I feel like I am suffering through a propaganda war through your testimony,” said U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Pennsylvania Democrat. “For those of you who think this is about reform, it’s not. It’s about shutting down media.”
Abramowitz, in a note sent to colleagues on Wednesday, said he was “saddened and angered” that the motives and patriotism of VOA employees were questioned in the hearing..
Democrats pointed to reports about Russia and China stepping up their own media efforts to fill the void left by stilled American voices. “Reliable news is no longer accessible for millions of people around the world,” said U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, a Rhode Island Democrat. “If our adversaries are cheering this decision, why would we do that?”
Employees at Voice of America’s Persian-language branch that broadcasts in Iran, were hurriedly called back into work at the outset of the Israel-Iran war, only for most of them to be laid off less than a week later.
Democrats characterized that as a missed opportunity to speak to Iranian citizens at a time when their government was weak. But Lake said a few employees were able to translate Trump’s speech announcing the U.S. bombing on Saturday into Farsi for the radio outlet.
Jobs for freelance journalists?
“We don’t need to have massive newsrooms,” Lake said. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Florida Republican, said that “a lot of journalists are freelance. That’s something we should look into.”
Some Democrats personally attacked Lake as unreliable, particularly a fellow Arizona resident, Rep. Greg Stanton, who pointed to false statements Lake had made about her own failed bids to get elected as governor and senator of that state.
“The American people cannot believe a word you say,” Stanton said. Lake said Stanton was spouting “complete insanity.” “I wish I could yield back the last five minutes of my life,” she said.
Meanwhile, several Republicans saluted Lake for trying to reform the agencies.
The outlets’ futures remain uncertain. There are a handful of court cases aimed at restoring funding and ordering a resumption of services. But the longer many remain off the air, the easier it is for followers to get into new habits of consuming news.
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This story has been corrected to note that it was employees of Voice of America’s Persian-language division who were called back into work after start of Israel-Iran war.
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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
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