(The National Pulse)—On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting specific federal agencies for operational reductions, including the parent organization of U.S. government-funded media outlet Voice of America (VOA). This action marks Trump’s ongoing efforts to streamline government operations. The order mandates these agencies to scale back their activities to the legal minimum.
Among the agencies affected are the U.S. Agency for Global Media, under which Voice of America operates, along with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. Additional targets include the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency.
The order specifies a reduction in all functions not explicitly required by law and converts statutory tasks to their minimal implementation. This move signifies the latest step by Trump to transform the federal bureaucracy.
But the Department of Government Efficiency has only axed 100,000 positions within the 2.3 million-member federal workforce so far, putting a freeze on foreign aid, and terminating a handful of contracts and programs.
Trump previously had disagreements with Voice of America during his first term and has appointed former news anchor Kari Lake as its director.
