'Everyone is really shocked and upset' — Trump administration puts Voice of America journalists on leave, cuts funding to Radio Free Europe

The Trump administration on March 15 followed up a on an executive order signed a day earlier by President Donald Trump vowing to gut funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

As a result of the executive order which deemed USAGM as among "elements of the federal bureaucracy that the president has determined are unnecessary," grant funding to U.S.-funded media outlet RFE/RL was terminated. Journalists and employees working at U.S.-funded Voice of America were also placed on administrative leave.

In an email obtained by the Kyiv Independent, employees at VOA were instructed "not to enter USAGM premises" nor "access USAGM systems."

"You will be expected to immediately surrender your official USAGM identification badge and press pass, as well as any keys or other official government property, including documents, records, electronic and telephone devices, and other equipment," the email sent to VOA employees continued.

"Everyone is really shocked and upset, but we saw some signs of those decisions coming" a VOA journalist who was placed on leave told the Kyiv Independent on the condition of anonymity.

In recent weeks, the government's human resource department sent emails to employees asking for personal emails and phone numbers in case they needed to be contacted, the VOA journalist told the Kyiv Independent. "We were suspicious obviously."

"Everyone is still shocked even though its been expected because everyone saw Elon Musk's tweets."

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who serves as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on Feb. 9 called for shutting down RFE/RL and VOA.

Responding to comments by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell, Musk wrote on X: "Yes, shut them down. Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Nobody listens to them anymore. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money."

Musk has criticized federal payments to media organizations like Politico, the Associated Press, and The New York Times, deeming them inefficient uses of taxpayer funds and moving to eliminate them.

"We are still considered government employees but not for long. No one is expecting that it will last," a VOA journalist said, adding that employees are expecting termination to be applied by the end of next week.

Politico reported on March 14 that U.S. government-backed broadcaster Radio Free Asia was furloughing about 300 U.S.-based staff next week due to the suspension in funding.

The move comes as Ostap Yarysh, a prominent Ukrainian correspondent at VoA, was dismissed on March 7, reportedly following an inspection by DOGE.

The New York Times reported on Feb. 28 that the USAGM, which oversees VOA, launched an investigation into journalists who had spoken out against Trump’s policies.

VOA Director Mike Abramowit said in a statement on social media that over 1,300 journalists, producers and support staff were place on leave, criticizing the move as "failing to protect U.S. interests."

"Even if the agency survives in some form, the actions being taken today by the Administration will severely damage Voice of America’s ability to foster a world that is safe and free and in doing so is failing to protect U.S. interests," Abramowit wrote.

Funding for Radio Free Europe Slashed

In addition to the leave imposed on journalists at VOA, grant funding to U.S.-funded media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was put to a halt.

In a letter sent by USAGM senior advisor Kari Lake, a staunch Trump supporter and former news anchor turned Republican Senate candidate, current U.S. government grant funding was terminated on March 15.

"This letter provides notice that that the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is terminating you federal grant... and any other grants with USAGM," the letter obtained by journalists reads.

In response to the termination of funding, Stephen Capus, the head of RFE/RL — which first began broadcasting into the Soviet Union during the Cold War — said that the decision was "a massive gift to America's enemies."

"The Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years. Handing our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker," Capus added.

Trump has long criticized U.S.-funded media organizations, criticizing them over their coverage of the U.S. president, and often referring to them as "fake news."

In total, the networks reach an estimated 427 million people across the world and employed thousands of employees across the United States, Cuba, Europe, and Asia.

The Trump administration has previously cut thousands of federally-funded positions, with the cuts directly impacting support for Ukraine. In February, the Trump administration terminated the employment of top officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) after they attempted to prevent representatives from Elon Musk’s DOGE from accessing restricted areas.