Kari Lake, a senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media and a close ally of President Trump, has called for defunding Voice of America, branding it a “rotten piece of fish.”
In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that effectively halted its operations, issuing layoff notices to most of its staff.
The move has sparked bipartisan concerns about the U.S.'s ability to share information in countries with restricted press freedoms, such as Iran, China, and Russia.
Critics warn that dismantling Voice of America could weaken America’s global influence, while supporters argue it’s a necessary step to curb perceived biases in its reporting.