US Agency for Global Media Moves Forward With Workforce Reduction Plan Under Kari Lake

The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has launched a renewed effort to reduce staff and restructure operations amid ongoing legal challenges to its authority and mission, offering employees a voluntary buyout option aligned with broader federal workforce reform directives.

USAGM, the independent federal agency that funds and oversees international broadcasters including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been the subject of sweeping reductions and organizational changes since early 2025 under Senior Advisor Kari Lake. Lake assumed a senior leadership role at USAGM in March 2025, later serving as the agency’s deputy CEO and acting CEO. 

In an internal email to USAGM employees dated Feb. 26, 2026, obtained by California Globe, the agency’s human resources office announced a Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) as part of “broader workforce reforms initiated by President Trump” and “recent OPM guidance.” 

According to the email, the program will be available through March 9, 2026, and allows employees to voluntarily transition out of federal service while “retaining full pay and benefits” and being exempt from in-person work requirements until Sept. 5, 2026, unless they choose to depart earlier.

Lake previewed the announcement in a post to X on February 25, advising USAGM employees of an “Announcement coming tomorrow regarding one of our continued efforts to modernize and right-size @USAGM. Stay tuned…”

Announcement coming tomorrow regarding one of our continued efforts to modernize and right size @USAGM

Stay tuned…

— Kari Lake (@KariLake) February 25, 2026

The email states that participation in the DRP does not guarantee approval and that the agency will exercise discretion based on “mission requirements, workload demands, or other operational needs.” It also notes that the agency’s planned reduction-in-force (RIF) — first announced in August 2025 — is suspended due to a court order, but “the Agency still intends to carry out a significant RIF as soon as we are able.” 

At the time, Lake explained the RIF, stating, 

“We are conducting this RIF at the President’s direction to help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money. USAGM will continue to fulfill its statutory mission after this RIF— and will likely improve its ability to function and provide the truth to people across the world who live under murderous Communist governments and other tyrannical regimes. I look forward to taking additional steps in the coming months to improve the functioning of a very broken agency and make sure America’s voice is heard abroad where it matters most.”

The DRP notice comes amid nearly a year-long upheaval at USAGM. On March 14, 2025, President Donald Trump issued his Executive Order “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” directing that the agency be eliminated “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” triggering workforce cuts and operational changes affecting Voice of America and other grantee broadcasters. 

Numerous legal challenges have followed. In April 2025, U.S. District Judge Royce Lambert granted a preliminary injunction, as reported by Red State, finding that aspects of the agency’s dismantling likely violated statutory requirements and reaffirming USAGM’s obligation to continue statutory functions and protect the editorial independence of its journalists and newsrooms. 

USAGM’s restructuring has also drawn congressional scrutiny. In July 2025, Representative Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, demanded documentation from Lake regarding workforce reductions and withholding of funds from grantees, arguing in an official letter that unilateral changes risk undermining USAGM’s mission to provide “objective and credible information to millions of people” worldwide. 

Lake’s leadership and the agency’s workforce reduction have drawn criticism from press freedom and organized labor. A May 2025 report by Reporters Without Borders highlighted plans to slash USAGM’s workforce from more than 1,000 employees to as few as 81, arguing that drastic cuts would cripple the agency’s ability to fulfill statutory responsibilities and serve audiences in information-restricted regions. 

In a written statement provided to California Globe through her publicist Alex Nicholls, Lake framed the DRP and broader changes as part of accountability to taxpayers and operational streamlining:

“This is about accountability to American taxpayers. Every other major news organization has cut excess staff and streamlined operations in recent years. Taxpayer-funded, government-run media should be no exception. We are reducing a bloated agency and returning it to its core mission while providing employees with generous support as they pursue rewarding new opportunities in the private sector.” 

In an interview with Gateway Pundit’s Jordan Conradson, Lake explained, “My ultimate goal is to take this agency, and this was part of the President’s budget, reduce the agency down to zero, and move the assets over to the State Department,” adding, “This is soft diplomacy, what we’re doing here. This is a soft power & it’s part of diplomacy, & really in my opinion & many others, belongs under the Department of State.” 

.@KariLake: "My ultimate goal, is to take this agency, & this was part of the president's budget, reduce the agency down to zero & move the assets over to the State Department.

This is soft diplomacy, what we're doing here. This is a soft power & it's part of diplomacy, &… pic.twitter.com/HlHi7rNwBh

— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) February 26, 2026

USAGM’s website describes the agency as an independent federal body tasked with informing, engaging, and connecting audiences around the world in support of freedom and democracy through outlets such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Martí, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and others.