Kari Lake needed just two weeks in the new Trump administration to sign off on a major blow to U.S. influence abroad.
Arizona’s former newscaster-turned-veteran political loser, who finally got a government job when she was appointed by Trump to be the senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, is signing off on major cuts to the agency — even though she doesn’t have the legal authority to do so.
The agency abruptly suspended more than 1,000 workers Saturday after President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday requiring it to end all activities that aren’t required by law. The agency also severed all its contracts with private broadcasters. Two of the termination notices for funding were signed by Lake, according to NPR.
The move hobbles an agency that has for the past 80 years broadcast news and pro-American messages to strategic parts of the world. It epitomizes Trump’s draconian quest to slash federal spending and dismantle large swaths of the federal government, seemingly without regard for America’s standing in the world.
But why Lake, a mere adviser, signed the notices instead of acting chief executive Victor Morales is a mystery. The USAGM’s public affairs office did not respond when Phoenix New Times asked why Morales did not sign the notices or whether the agency believed Lake had the authority to sign them.
Lake did not respond either. During her two statewide campaigns, the former newscaster was known for her embrace of misinformation as a political strategy and for frequently making bold assertions that were simply false. Her loose relationship with truth also came back to haunt her, especially when she struggled to find a consistent stance on abortion. In November, she settled a defamation lawsuit brought by former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.
It’s unclear whether Lake's signature on the documents will hold up in court.
The mass firing covered all employees at Voice of America and the Office for Cuba Broadcasting, two U.S.-funded media agencies that provide news to parts of the world where critical journalism is lacking. According to the USAGM, the broadcasts reach “420 million people weekly in 63 languages and over 100 countries – often in some of the world’s most restrictive media environments.”
Eastern Europe — an area Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to influence and hold sway over — is a critical zone of operation for one of those networks, called Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Journalists from the network have been imprisoned or detained in Russia, Russian-controlled Crimea, Belarus and Azerbaijan.
The attempt to completely dismantle the USAGM’s networks comes days before Trump and Putin are set to discuss the War in Ukraine on Tuesday, which Putin started by invading the country.
Michael Abramowitz, the director of Voice of America, posted about the move to burn down the federally funded network on his Facebook account.
"I am deeply saddened that for the 1st time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced," Abramowitz wrote. “VOA needs thoughtful reform and we have made progress in that regard. But today's action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission."
Steve Capus, the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, noted in a statement NPR acquired that the network enjoyed strong bipartisan support before Trump took office. He also wrote that “Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years.”
America’s adversaries in the global information battle scarcely could have wished for a better start to Lake’s tenure.
