17.03.2025 – 21.03.2025 A Tate Papers A Pine 2

The U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the suspension of VOA and RFA, two news agencies that operate under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).

The U.S. Congress has authorized the distribution of funds through USAGM, which is a federal agency that distributes funds to news organizations. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the morning of March 15 to block the move.

The executive order ordered six organizations, including USAGM, including museums, homeless relief, and minority-owned business development, to cease operations “to the fullest extent permitted by law.”

“The RFA president received a letter on Saturday morning, March 15, informing him that the US government had suspended RFA’s funding and that RFA must “immediately return the remaining funds to the government.” The letter, signed by Kari Lake, the special advisor to the USAGM and “Acting CEO with Authority Delegated with the Acting CEO,” stated that the suspension order could be appealed within 30 days, RFA said in a statement.

It is not yet known when the news organization will be suspended, and RFA’s president, Bay Fang, said on March 15 that it plans to challenge Trump’s order through legal means.

“The end of RFA’s funding is a gift to dictators and rogue regimes around the world, including the Chinese Communist Party, whose power is expanding unchecked in the age of news,” RFA’s president said.

VOA, which is also facing possible shutdowns, said it will temporarily suspend its Myanmar-language live broadcast scheduled for the evening of March 15 and will resume broadcasting shortly.

This morning, we learned that more than 1,300 VOA reporters, producers and support staff have been furloughed under the executive order. I am among them,” VOA Director Michael Abramowitz wrote on Facebook.