Several employees at Voice of America were placed on paid leave on Saturday, one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order gutting the U.S. government-funded media outlet’s parent and six other federal agencies.
Multiple workers at Voice of America, an international media broadcaster that operates in more than 40 languages, shared with Reuters an email that placed them on administrative leave with full pay and benefits “until otherwise notified.”
The emails, sent by a human resources executive at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the VOA’s parent agency, instructed them not to enter their work premises or access internal systems.
It was not immediately clear how many employees were placed on leave. The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which also funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move follows Trump signing an executive order on Friday instructing USAGM and six other little-known agencies to reduce their operations to the bare minimum mandated by the law, saying it was necessary to shrink bureaucracy.
Trump, who clashed with the Voice of America during his first term, picked former news anchor Kari Lake to be its director for his second term. Lake, a staunch ally of the president, has often accused mainstream media of harboring anti-Trump bias.
Source:- Reuters