For the first time in its 83-year history, the Voice of America, an American media outlet financed by the US government and recognized in Russia as a foreign agent media outlet, has completely stopped broadcasting. This was reported by the organization's director Michael Abramowitz, who emphasized that the decision to close was accompanied by sending almost the entire staff on administrative leave, including more than 1300 employees - journalists, producers and technical specialists.

"I am deeply saddened that the legendary Voice of America is going silent. This morning, we learned that the vast majority of our colleagues, including myself, have been placed on administrative leave," Abramowitz said, expressing regret over the shutdown of one of the oldest international broadcasters.

The decision to terminate the Voice of America is related to the order of US President Donald Trump, who had previously initiated a large-scale reduction in the staff of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). This structure oversees the activities of five major American media outlets broadcasting in 49 languages, including such well-known organizations as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (included in the list of media outlets that are foreign agents of the Russian Federation) and Voice of America. In addition, it became known that the grant intended to finance Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and approved by the US Congress was canceled, which also puts the future work of this media structure at risk.

Founded in 1942, Voice of America has served as a tool of American public diplomacy for decades, providing information in dozens of languages ​​and reporting from the U.S. perspective. Broadcasts included Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and other languages, reaching audiences in more than 100 countries. But in recent years, the organization has come under fire from Republicans for being too liberally biased and a waste of public funds. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, he proposed cutting funding for USAGM, calling the media “propaganda tools that are not in the interests of American taxpayers.” In March 2025, after returning to the White House, Trump stepped up efforts to reform the agency, leading to the current crisis.

According to The Washington Post on March 15, 2025, the decision to shut down Voice of America has sparked a sharp reaction in the US Congress. The Democratic Party called the move an "attack on free speech," stressing that such actions weaken the US position in the information standoff with Russia and China, which continue to actively develop their international media outlets, such as RT and CGTN. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said that shutting down Voice of America could leave millions of people in authoritarian countries without access to independent information. At the same time, Republicans who support Trump argue that the reorganization of USAGM will allow budget funds to be redistributed to higher-priority areas, such as strengthening cybersecurity and countering disinformation.