As a court decision nears over Kari Lake’s authority to cut the majority of its broadcast staff, the US Agency for Global Media offered employees “another opportunity…to voluntarily transition out of federal service through the Deferred Resignation Program.”
It’s been almost one year since the Trump administration moved aggressively to dismantle USAGM, issuing directives to eliminate all non-legally required activities. This resulted in roughly 85% of the agency’s workforce being terminated or suspended. Voice of America, which had broadcast in 49 languages to 420 million people across more than 100 countries, was limited to four languages.
Funding was simultaneously cut off to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
The email, sent Thursday by the agency’s human resources office and first reported by Politico, ties the offer to what it describes as broader federal workforce reforms. Employees have until March 9 to accept the package, a deadline that falls just ahead of the anticipated court decision.
US District Judge Royce Lamberth is expected to rule in early March on the legality of USAGM CEO Kari Lake’s authority and prior actions aimed at laying off a majority of the government-funded broadcaster’s staff. The ruling could determine the scope of the agency’s ability to move forward with involuntary reductions.
The move also follows congressional approval of funding for Voice of America that reportedly exceeds the level requested by Lake.
For months, Lamberth has pressed the agency to present a plan for VOA’s future. Lake has publicly described her approach as an effort to “rightsize” the agency. Before the formal notice, Lake previewed the offer on social media, writing to employees to check their email for details.
Lake carried out the cuts while also canceling content contracts with AP, Reuters, and AFP, and signing a new deal with the far-right One America News Network. Federal judges questioned whether these actions violated congressional mandates requiring VOA to remain politically impartial, and Lake was ordered to testify under oath about her role in the dismantling.
A district court judge initially ruled the administration could not unilaterally dismantle VOA without congressional approval, but an appeals court panel froze that ruling, allowing cuts to continue. By September, another federal judge ordered a halt to the layoffs of the remaining 532 full-time staff, accusing officials of deliberately running out the fiscal year clock while remaining in violation of the agency’s statutory obligations.
