Latest news with #USAGM
Canada News.Net
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Trump tells Republicans to kill top US state media outlet
The president has labeled the Voice of America a left-wing disaster US President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to support his campaign to dismantle the state-funded news outlet Voice of America (VOA). Launched in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II, the broadcaster later served as a key vehicle for pro-American messaging during the Cold War. Trump has argued, however, that VOA has in recent decades veered toward partisanship, and vowed to shut it down as part of his broader push to eliminate wasteful government spending. "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!" the president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. Earlier that day, Trump's senior adviser Kari Lake told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA, was "rotten to the core" and should be reshaped to align with Trump's "America First" agenda. Committee Chairman Brian Mast described USAGM as "a cesspool of spies, lies, and mismanagement" that "has promoted the very propaganda it was created to defeat." He accused the agency of hiring foreign nationals, many of whom he said were "quite literally, security risks." Lake, who has been tasked by Trump with overseeing the dismantling of the agency, said last week that nearly 640 full-time staffers and more than 500 contractors had been laid off at USAGM and VOA. Democrats and press freedom advocates have criticized the move. "The wholesale destruction of public media outlets like Voice of America represents an unprecedented gift from Trump to the dictatorial censorship regimes in countries like China and Iran," said Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Kari Lake declares US Agency for Global Media ‘rotten to the core,' sets 2026 shutdown goal: 'A boondoggle'
Kari Lake isn't backing down. In blunt testimony before Congress Wednesday, Lake declared the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the $950 million agency for which she is the senior advisor overseeing Voice of America (VOA), is "rotten to the core" and on track to be gutted by 2026. "This place is rotten. It's rotten to the core," Lake told the House Oversight Committee. "President Trump has asked me to go in and help clean it up, and he's also issued an executive order to reduce this agency down to its mandate, to what is mandated, statutorily required. That's exactly what I'm doing. I don't care if they attack me." She's not acting alone. Lake provided Fox News Digital with a letter from House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., demanding records on USAGM's foreign hires, conflicts of interest and its handling of disinformation and national security. President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to say, "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!" Lake didn't hold back in describing what she found within USAGM. "It's really like a rotten piece of fish," she said. "And you're looking at it, and you're saying, 'Is there anything we can pull out of here and eat?' And it's best to just scrap the whole thing and start over." She argued that instead of defending American values abroad, the federally funded national and international news agency had become compromised with hostile actors potentially influencing what gets broadcast on the U.S. taxpayer's dime. "The [Chinese Communist Party] has more control over what we put out editorially than people who are management at the agency," Lake said. "Are any of these VOA employees who acted on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party ... still employed? It's possible. We're working to try to figure that out." She accused the grantees — including VOA, Radio Free Asia and the Open Technology Fund — of resisting oversight and stonewalling basic financial reviews. "Nearly $400 million, the hard-earned taxpayer dollars of hard-working American people, are going to these grantees, and they've stonewalled us from getting any information until the eleventh hour," Lake said. "Finally, last night, knowing I would be sitting here, they finally agreed to say, 'Oh, we'll let you look at our books now.' It's a joke what's going on." Lake found no shortage of support from Republicans on the committee, including Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who said the agency should've been shut down years ago. "We might as well be riding a Model T down the middle of the street. It might be ... it looks good, and it brings back old memories, but, dadgum, it's not very efficient," Burchett said. Lake agreed, adding, "It's a relic." Democrats accused Lake of dismantling a strategic asset and repeating anti-VOA rhetoric similar to that used by China. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., said, "You just want to reduce it to its statutory minimum. And then you said … that it will be gone by 2026. You want it gone. The president wants it gone by 2026. ... You're a propaganda machine for the Trump administration." Dean said she had "no questions" for Lake, adding, "You have misled this committee. ... You've lost your credibility. You have poured it out in buckets." Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, claimed layoffs would "cede all of our soft power in the world to our adversaries," arguing, "354 million people listen to [VOA] every week." Lake replied bluntly, "Those are government numbers. And I don't trust those numbers." Johnson shot back, "That's a sad state of affairs when you don't trust the government that you're representing." Lake defended the cuts, saying they follow the law and common sense. "We are doing what is statutorily required," she said. "The statutory minimum President Trump put forth in his executive order ... and that's what we're going to do." Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., expressed concern that cutting grantee staff could weaken U.S. influence in hot spots like Iran and North Korea. "We can do it with a smaller staff.," Lake replied. "This newsroom should have been downsized a long time ago. … It's over. Too many people were working in the newsroom, and we've shrunk that down." She added that many grantee roles were redundant. "Why do we need RFA to be doing a Mandarin news service when we at VOA are doing Mandarin?" Lake said. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., closed with a comparison. iHeartMedia runs a national operation at $90 million per year. USAGM's budget? Nearly $1 billion. Lake's closing message was direct. "We can do this smarter, leaner and with loyalty to American values," she said.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Kari Lake makes astonishing claim about congressman's 'gay lover' during off the rails congressional hearing
Kari Lake got personal Wednesday during a congressional hearing with a fellow a Arizonan. During an exchange with U.S. Representative Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Lake brought up reporting of past rumors of the former Phoenix Mayor having a gay lover as an example of what happens when media agencies do not have a check on their content. Lake, the former failed U.S. Senate and gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, is presently serving as a senior advisor at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) which oversees Voice of America, the official international broadcaster of the U.S. Lake warned Stanton that without proper oversight of content, 'they could literally put out a lie about anybody here, and I know you've been the victim of that.' 'I remember the stories about you, where they said you had a gay lover,' Lake asserted. Stanton responded by asking the committee chairman to scrub Lake's remark from the congressional record. Lake, acknowledging the rumors about Stanton were 'lies,' said they could still be broadcast on VOA without repercussions. 'You couldn't pick up the phone, Representative Stanton, and call them and say 'hey, you're putting out lies about me' you would not be able to do that because they would sue you for breaking the firewall,' Lake charged. 'How would you like it if those lies were put on Voice of America right now?' Lake concluded. Stanton undoubtedly found the remarks about his sexuality to be defamatory, as he has been married to his wife for 20 years, and the couple has two children together. Stanton got under Lake's skin for highlighting her electoral defeats, particularly her 2022 gubernatorial defeat. 'You lost fair and square. Instead of conceding, you embarrassed yourself and our state by lying,' Stanton said, accusing Lake of playing 'toxic' politics. 'The American people cannot believe a word you say.' Trump nominated Lake, a former local TV anchor, to lead Voice of America, which counts an audience of 326 million and employs 48 different languages. Unable to receive rapid Senate confirmation, the president appointed her to an advisory staff role. The Trump administration, with Lake's help, have unleashed extensive cuts at VOA and USAGM, all but shuttering operations. One of Lake's early moves as a USAGM employee was to oversee significant restructuring at the agency, drastically reducing its workforce by 85%. Those cuts were rejected by VOA's CEO Michael Abramowitz, who filed a federal lawsuit to stop them. But the Trump administration appealed, allowing the cuts to remain in effect for the time being.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Trump tells Republicans to ‘kill' top US state media outlet
US President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to support his campaign to dismantle the state-funded news outlet Voice of America (VOA). Launched in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II, the broadcaster later served as a key vehicle for pro-American messaging during the Cold War. Trump has argued, however, that VOA has in recent decades veered toward partisanship, and vowed to shut it down as part of his broader push to eliminate wasteful government spending. '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!' the president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. Earlier that day, Trump's senior adviser Kari Lake told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA, was 'rotten to the core' and should be reshaped to align with Trump's 'America First' agenda. Committee Chairman Brian Mast described USAGM as 'a cesspool of spies, lies, and mismanagement' that 'has promoted the very propaganda it was created to defeat.' He accused the agency of hiring foreign nationals, many of whom he said were 'quite literally, security risks.' Lake, who has been tasked by Trump with overseeing the dismantling of the agency, said last week that nearly 640 full-time staffers and more than 500 contractors had been laid off at USAGM and VOA. Democrats and press freedom advocates have criticized the move. 'The wholesale destruction of public media outlets like Voice of America represents an unprecedented gift from Trump to the dictatorial censorship regimes in countries like China and Iran,' said Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'You have no credibility': Lake grilled by House Committee over Voice of America cuts
While testifying before a House committee on Wednesday, Kari Lake faced severe criticism over her handling of the United States Agency for Global Media. The former news anchor and current senior advisor to the USAGM was called before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss the future of the agency that runs Voice of America (VOA). Recent drastic cuts to the agency and lay-offs have concerned politicians on both sides of the aisle and Lake came in for a drubbing from critics. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., went after Lake for the way she went about cutting media grants and placing VOA employees on administrative leave. 'These are complex questions,' said Lake. 'It's either, you did a review or you didn't,' Meeks shot back, before repeatedly asking her if she 'had a record' of what she reviewed. Lake held up a picture of Donald Trump, refused to answer, and said the question was 'ridiculous.' During her testimony, Lake said that it was her goal to 'reduce' the USAGM 'to its statutory minimum' and 'that it will be gone by 2026.' Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., accused Lake of ducking accountability for her actions. Bringing up Lake's unsucessful Senate bid, Stanton said she blamed 'everything under the sun' for her failures. He said Lake spread 'lies' about the election's integrity after he loss. Lake defended her actions, saying the media could 'literally put out a lie about anybody here.' 'You've been the victim of that,' she said. 'I remember the stories about you where they said you had a gay lover…Those kind of lies could be broadcast today by VOA.' Lake addressed concerns from Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., about eliminating languages from international broadcasts by describing the 84 languages covered by VOA as 'languages we don't have to be covering.' Lake claimed VOA was a 'relic' and was challenged by Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas. When Johnson said that over 350 million people listen to the network weekly, Lake questioned the stats. 'Those are government numbers,' Lake said. 'I don't trust those numbers.' Johnson called Lake's response 'pathetic.' 'That's a sad state of affairs,' said Johnson, 'that you don't trust the government you're representing and the agency that you're in charge of.' Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., dressed down Lake her time, calling her a 'propaganda mouthpiece for Trump.' 'You have no credibility,' Dean said. 'Your journalistic integrity is shot.' Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., ceded his remaining time to Lake, who used it to claim that VOA had not 'told the story of America properly or positively.' Lake again claimed that VOA was a mouthpiece for Iranian, Chinese, and Russian 'propaganda,' and praised Joe Rogan as an example of a 'smaller newsroom…that reaches millions of people.' Addressing Donald Trump's desire to shutdown the agency, Lake said she was 'happy to do what the president wants to do.' The post 'You have no credibility': Lake grilled by House Committee over Voice of America cuts appeared first on
