…
#Democrats pointed to a surge in Iranians tuning into #RadioFarda, the Persian-language news service funded by the #USAGM. Amid the recent #war between #Israel & #Iran, they argued, the #US should continue to fund #media orgs countering the #misinformation disseminated by Iran & other countries, such as #NorthKorea.

Rep Michael McCaul, #Republican of #Texas, said there were “systemic problems” in the agency, but that it remained necessary around the world.

“We need America’s voice in #Iran right now,” he said. “We need to ensure the Iranian people hear the truth that we do not intend to harm them.”

“#Congress should ask Ms. Lake to provide proof for the mystifying allegations,” Mike Abramowitz, the director of #VoiceOfAmerica, said in a statement. “If #VOA is controlled by the #CCP, then why are they rejoicing at its being shut down?”

#Democrats & some #Republicans voiced concern that in moving to dismantle the global media agency, #Trump was abandoning a useful tool of #SoftPower.

Noncitizens cannot obtain security clearances for viewing #classified info, & NO reporters at the global media agency have such security clearances, said Kate Neeper, a director of strategy who received a layoff notice last week. Some executives may have security clearances to receive #intelligence that would help them protect #reporters who work in war-zones or in countries w/repressive governments, Neeper said.
#law #FreePress #SoftPower #journalism #independence #censorship #AmericanAutocracy

On Wednesday, Lake asked members of #Congress to amend the #laws requiring the existence of #VoiceOfAmerica & its aligned newsrooms, which have sought to fight the #Trump admin’s push to shutter them. She argued that her agency was “unsalvageable” & “a threat to America’s national security,”[?] asserting falsely that its reporters, including foreign nationals, had obtained security clearances, & that it had ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Lake, the fmr *news*caster #Trump put in charge of the dept that includes the international broadcast network, sent layoff notices last week to all but around 200 reporters & support staff at #VoiceOfAmerica & the parent agency she leads. She has also withheld #funding from other #news orgs that are separate nonprofits but receive federal dollars, such as #RadioFreeEurope / #RadioLiberty & #RadioFreeAsia.

“What is going out on #VOA airwaves—it’s outrageous, & it has to stop,” Lake told the #House #ForeignAffairs Cmte. She called #independent reporting from international #news agencies funded by the govt “corrupt” & “biased,” & made clear that Trump’s goal was not to overhaul but to shut down the global media agency, which she called “a rotten piece of fish.”

#Trump himself chimed in with a social media post, urging #Congress to “kill” the #VoiceOfAmerica.

…Shuttering #USAID so quickly “likely violated the United States #Constitution in multiple ways,” a federal judge ruled less than two months into the new admin. (That ruling is on hold while an appeals court completes a review.)

By that point, it didn’t matter. The agency was effectively gone.

Few #Republicans had been as vocal in their support for #USAID as #MarcoRubio, who, as a senator, once said that “in every region of the world, we should always search for ways to use USAID & #humanitarian assistance to strengthen our #influence.” But as the agency collapsed, its remnants placed under his control as Secretary of #State, Rubio was largely a bystander while #Musk & others shaped decisions on foreign #aid.

The result was a real-time decision to take down an institution created almost 65 years ago as a linchpin of US #ForeignPolicy, intended to advance the country’s #NationalSecurity interests by establishing new markets for American goods, reducing conflicts that risked entangling US #troops, & countering efforts by communist & autocratic regimes to expand their power.

…The Times investigation found that #Musk’s #DOGE first approached #USAID as a source of useful anecdotes of what it called “viral waste” — government spending that seemed foolish, & could be exploited to support the case for cuts.

When employees raised concerns about demands that they viewed as dangerous or #unlawful, the #Trump admin branded their actions as “insubordination” — then used that charge to justify dismantling the agency.

#Musk demanded that Gray shut off email & cellphone access for #USAID workers around the world, including in conflict zones. Gray refused, saying that doing so would put their lives at risk, according to people familiar with the exchange. By the next day, he had been removed from his post.

Today, the rapid-fire dismantling of the country’s sprawling #global #aid agency remains one of the most consequential outcomes of the #Trump admin’s efforts to overhaul the federal government. Not only did it transform US #ForeignPolicy, but it also provided a vivid opening display of Trump’s willingness to tear down institutions as he saw fit, in defiance of #Congress & the #courts, with a speed that was hard for his opponents to comprehend, much less resist.

A little after 4PM, Gray issued an upbeat memo to the agency’s more than 10,000 employees, telling them to expect a focus on innovation & new partnerships.

“The next four years offer a great opportunity for our agency,” he wrote.

Two weeks later, #USAID was on the cusp of oblivion — its programs around the world stopped, its staff in Washington told to stay home.

Inside the agency’s offices, Gray’s colleagues gathered around, trying to buck him up.

Yes, the job would be challenging under #Trump, whose “America First” politics weren’t exactly sympathetic to sending #US taxpayer money around the world. But #USAID had come through the first Trump admin largely unscathed, & #MarcoRubio, the incoming secretary of #state, was a longtime supporter.

The outgoing #Biden admin had selected somebody with more #ForeignAid experience to manage #USAID until the new president chose, & #Congress approved, a permanent administrator. But #Trump’s team, apparently eager to reverse any decisions by the former president, told Gray to take the helm instead.

It was the day of #Trump’s inauguration, & the U.S. Agency for International Development’s new director looked like he might pass out, as the color drained from his face.

Jason Gray, #USAID’s chief information officer, who had been at the agency for only 2 years, had just learned he would be in charge, effective immediately. Gray wasn’t supposed to be the boss.