Voice of America goes dark
What VOA is and why it matters
Last updated June 9, 1:00 a.m.
Voice of America’s programming has almost completely ceased since President Donald Trump signed an executive order in mid-March calling for its parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), to be reduced to “the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” Until then, VOA had been broadcasting news around the world since World War II, focusing much of its programming on people who live under repressive governments and cannot get truthful information from their state-run media.
Underlying the mission of VOA, a federally funded U.S. broadcaster, is the belief that America is stronger when people who live in such countries can hear the truth about their governments, the United States and the world. Through its programming, VOA aims to show that a free press — a right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution — delivers not only the truthful voices that people everywhere crave but also demonstrates how free expression itself fuels democracy.
Fight to get back on the air
Since Trump issued his executive order, approximately 500 VOA contractors, working as journalists and support staff, have been fired, and approximately 800 VOA full-time employees have been put on administrative leave. USAGM — effectively led by former journalist-turned-politician Kari Lake, who has been serving as the agency’s special adviser — has ceased almost all VOA programming and has forbidden all but about two dozen journalists from reporting the news.
Employees at VOA have filed two separate lawsuits challenging the legality of the executive order and Lake’s moves to effectively gut the agency. In both cases, federal courts have ruled in favor of the employees, but an appeals court stayed a ruling that would have returned all employees to work while waiting for the appeals court to rule on the merits of the cases.
Where we broadcast
Most Americans have never heard of VOA, and that is by design. VOA’s programming isn’t meant for a U.S. audience because the United States has a robust free press anchored in centuries of practice. Instead, VOA focuses on countering disinformation in places like Russia, going behind China’s Great Firewall, evading the efforts of the Taliban to jam VOA broadcasts and reaching people in more than 100 countries.
While access to the internet and social media have been growing around the world, Reporters Without Borders reported in May that more than half of the world’s population has little to no access to freely reported news because they live in a country where the state of press freedom is described as “very serious.”
VOA seeks to counter that bleak statistic by finding ways around state chokeholds on information and by providing news to people in the languages they speak, one of the few media outlets to do so. VOA’s audience is widespread and diverse: a factory worker listening to radio broadcasts in Mandarin; a farmer watching television programs in Swahili; an office worker reading VOA’s website in Farsi. In total, VOA news sites — including programs on the radio, television, website and social media — broadcast in 49 languages.
By the numbers
VOA has an audience of more than 361 million people each week, as measured by nationally representative surveys in target markets. Research also finds that 86% of VOA users say they consider the information they receive from VOA to be very or somewhat trustworthy, and 76% say that the network’s broadcasts help them to form opinions on important issues, according to USAGM’s 2024 Agency Performance Report.
In a typical week, VOA would broadcast 2,391 hours of content, with about 60% of that for radio and 40% for video. However, by the end of May 2025, with only a handful of journalists working, VOA produced almost no content, and the little it did was in just four languages: Farsi, Mandarin, Dari and Pashto. The output consisted of a few web articles, one or two videos, and a handful of social media posts per day, plus a short daily newscast in only two languages: Dari and Pashto.
VOA journalist Robert Bauer, 1942
Beginnings
By the end of the 1930s, the United States was the only world power without a government-sponsored international radio service. Other nations that were regularly broadcasting beyond their borders included the Soviet Union, Italy, Britain, France, Germany and Japan. The outbreak of World War II prompted the U.S. to begin creating the infrastructure for a federally funded broadcaster. On February 1, 1942, VOA aired its first broadcast in German, seeking to reach those living under Nazi control.
“Daily at this time, we shall speak to you about America and the war. The news may be good or bad. We shall tell you the truth,” announcer William Harlan Hale said.
VOA’s programming is widely credited with playing a role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. “Among the forces that tore holes in the Iron Curtain was the steady bombardment by the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, and the BBC,” said Strobe Talbott, former U.S. deputy secretary of state during the Clinton administration.
In recent decades, VOA has shone the truth in its coverage of the war on terrorism, the Arab spring, the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Pledge to tell the truth
From the beginning, VOA has pledged to tell the truth. As John Houseman, VOA’s first director, said later, “In reality, we had little choice. Inevitably the news that the Voice of America would carry to the world in the first half of 1942 was almost all bad. As Japanese invasions followed one another with sickening regularity and the Nazi armies moved ever deeper into Russia and the Near East, we would have to report our reverses without weaseling. Only thus could we establish a reputation for honesty which we hoped would pay off on that distant but inevitable day when we would start reporting our own invasions and victories.”
This ethos was further developed when VOA adopted its charter in 1960, which was codified into law by Congress in 1976. Its first principle: “VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.”
Timeline of the shutdown
December 12
Kari Lake picked to lead VOA
President-elect Donald Trump says he intends to appoint Kari Lake, a politician and former Arizona journalist, to lead the international, government-funded broadcaster Voice of America.
January 20
Trump's inauguration
Trump is sworn into office as the 47th president.
Late January
Trump fires advisory board
Trump fires all members of the bipartisan International Broadcasting Advisory Board, which advises the head of VOA's parent agency, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). By law, a majority of the board must approve the hiring and firing of network heads, including the VOA director.
February 9
Elon Musk calls for VOA's closure
Elon Musk, then-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posts on X that VOA and its sister agency, Radio Free Europe, should be shut down. Read the post.
February 27
USAGM announces Lake as special adviser
USAGM says Lake will join the agency as a special adviser. She is sworn into her position four days later.
Early March
DOGE in the building
DOGE workers enter VOA offices in Washington.
March 12
VOA White House bureau chief rebuked
During a press conference in the Oval Office, VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara asks Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin, "What about the president's plans to expel Palestinians out of Gaza? Are you discussing that with him and giving him your opinion?" Trump responds, "Nobody is expelling any Palestinians" and asks Widakuswara, "Who are you with?" When she replies, "I'm with Voice of America, sir," Trump says, "Oh, no wonder." Watch the Oval Office exchange.
March 14
President Trump signs executive order
Trump signs an executive order calling for the elimination of the “non-statutory components and functions” at USAGM, reducing the agency “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” Read the order.
March 15
VOA programming goes dark
USAGM, effectively led by Lake, ceases all VOA programming, forbids journalists from reporting the news, and places more than 1,300 workers on administrative leave.
March 16
Contractors fired
Nearly 600 VOA journalists working as independent personal services contractors (PSCs) are given notices of termination.
March 21
First lawsuit filed
Seven VOA employees, including Widakuswara, along with unions representing federal employees, and Reporters Without Borders file a lawsuit challenging the effective closure of VOA and the administration’s plans to fire all of its journalists. Read the lawsuit.
Read RSF’s letter of support (PDF).
March 25
Former directors urge Congress to protect VOA
Former VOA directors nominated across party lines send a letter to Congress urging them to save the broadcaster. Nine of the 10 then-living former directors sign the letter, saying Trump’s efforts to end VOA “amount to a gift to China, Iran, Russia and other oppressive regimes around the world." Read the letter (PDF).
March 26
Second lawsuit filed
VOA Director Michael Abramowitz, who has also been placed on leave, files a second lawsuit against VOA’s shuttering, along with three other plaintiffs. Read the lawsuit (PDF).
March 28
Judge grants temporary restraining order
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York rules in favor of VOA employees and grants a temporary restraining order prohibiting the administration from carrying out its planned layoffs. Judge Paul Oetken says in his ruling that USAGM failed to “provide a single sentence of explanation for the colossal changes that have occurred at USAGM since March 15, 2025.” Read the order (PDF).
March 29
Contractors are reinstated
After the issuance of the TRO, VOA contractors are informed by USAGM that their contracts were put on hold "until further notice," and they will remain on administrative leave with regular pay and benefits.
April 17
Court hears arguments on preliminary injunction
The federal District Court for the District of Columbia hears oral arguments on the two VOA cases to consider a preliminary injunction.
April 22
Judge orders VOA employees back to work
District Judge Royce Lamberth rules in favor of the employees, ordering USAGM to return employees and contractors to their work status prior to March 14 and to “restore VOA programming such that USAGM fulfills its statutory mandate that VOA ‘serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.’” Lamberth calls the administration’s decision to dismantle VOA “arbitrary and capricious” and writes, “Not only is there an absence of 'reasoned analysis' from the defendants; there is an absence of any analysis whatsoever.” Read the order (PDF).
April 25
USAGM appeals ruling
USAGM appeals Lamberth's order that VOA employees and contractors be returned to work. Read the ruling (PDF).
May 3
Appeals court stays part of the ruling
A three-judge panel at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issues a stay on the reinstatement of VOA employees, ruling 2-1 that the government does not need to bring employees back to work while the court decides the merits of the case. The appeals court notes the government did not challenge the aspect of Lamberth's ruling requiring it to restore VOA’s "statutorily required programming levels." Read the ruling (PDF).
May 6
Handful of workers return
USAGM issues a return-to-work order to a couple dozen full-time employees to produce minimal content in only four of the 49 languages: Farsi, Mandarin, Dari and Pashto. The output consists of a few web articles, one or two videos, and a handful of social media posts per day, plus a daily five-minute newscast in only two languages: Dari and Pashto.
May 15
Contractors are fired again
USAGM reissues termination notices for nearly 600 contractors. The termination dates vary, effective on May 23, May 30 and June 5.
May 22
Appeals court declines intervention
The full DC Circuit Court of Appeals declines to intervene in the case, at least for now. Read the order (PDF).
May 27
Request for appeals court to act quickly
Plaintiffs of Widakuswara v. Lake submit a motion to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to expedite the appeals process, citing contractor terminations and concern about employee firings. Read the motion (PDF).
May 28
Plaintiffs say USAGM is not following judge's order
Abramowitz v. Lake plaintiffs ask the court to make USAGM explain why it hasn't followed Lamberth's order to restore VOA. Read the request (PDF).
May 31
Plaintiffs call for district court to hold new hearing
Widakuswara v. Lake plaintiffs argue that USAGM is still trying to shut down VOA in violation of Lamberth's order and ask the court to hold a hearing quickly. Read the motion (PDF).
Co-plaintiff Kate Neeper provides a declaration in support of the request, chronicling the substantial decrease in VOA output. Read the request (PDF).
June 2
USAGM asks for pause in lower court proceedings
USAGM asks Lamberth to pause all ongoing legal proceedings in the two cases (Widakuswara v. Lake and Abramowitz v. Lake) until the higher court makes its ruling. Read the motion (PDF).
June 3
Lake informs Congress of large staff cuts
As first reported by the Washington Post, Lake sends a letter to Congress, saying she plans to cut most of the 800 remaining staff members at VOA. Her plan is to keep only 17 journalists and broadcast technicians, down from more than 1,300 employees who worked at the broadcaster at the start of March. Read the letter (PDF).
June 4
USAGM says it can decide content amount
USAGM insists it has broad discretion to run VOA and that there’s no rule requiring a specific staff size or content output. Read the motion (PDF).
June 13
USAGM recalls Persian service amid Iran-Israel conflict
USAGM issues a return-to-work order for about 75 full-time employees who work in the Persian service or as broadcast technicians to cover the growing conflict between Israel and Iran.
USAGM argues it is meeting the statutory minimum
USAGM files papers in district court detailing why it believes VOA is meeting the minimum programming required by Congressional statute. Read the defendants’ motion (PDF).
June 17
USAGM asks for a lower court stay to pause legal proceedings
USAGM files papers in district court asking Judge Lamberth not to rule on motions related to the case, arguing that the appeals court can make all decisions when it hears the case on its merits. Read the motion (PDF).
June 20
USAGM begins mass layoffs
USAGM launches mass layoffs of VOA and USAGM staff, including some members of the Persian service that it called back to work the prior week to cover Israel’s war with Iran. Employees last day on the payroll will be September 1, Labor Day.
Read the USAGM announcement.
Read the plaintiffs’ response.
June 23
District judge holds hearing on cuts to VOA
At the hearing, Judge Lamberth asks a Justice Department attorney why the government did not inform him of recent layoff notices sent to VOA employees and asks the government for more information about whether it is complying with his order to preserve VOA. “What would be the purpose of Voice of America if there was no voice?” Lamberth asks. Watch the plaintiffs’ press conference.
June 25
Lake testifies to House committee
Lake attacks VOA during testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Read the plaintiffs’ response.
Read an annotated fact check of her opening remarks.
USAGM argues court cannot force it to undo layoffs
USAGM files papers in district court arguing the executive branch has the legal right to decide how to manage its agencies, including reducing staff and funding. Read the government's brief (PDF).