WEST PALM BEACH: President Trump signed an executive order Friday seeking to dismantle seven additional federal agencies, including the one that oversees Voice of America and other govt-funded media outlets around the world.
Trump directed the heads of the agencies, largely obscure entities that address issues like labour mediation and homelessness prevention, to eliminate all functions that are not statutorily mandated.
Voice of America’s parent, the US Agency for Global Media is congressionally chartered as an independent agency. The organisation, with a budget of roughly $270 million and more than 2,000 employees, broadcasts in 49 languages. It has a weekly estimated audience of more than 361 million people. By Saturday morning, many journalists and other employees at Voice of America were informed they were being placed on administrative leave, according to an email reviewed by The New York Times.
The other agencies targeted Friday are the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency. In seven days, the heads of the entities must submit their plans for complying with the order.