The layoffs would affect 532 jobs for full-time staff, representing most of the agency's remaining employees. VOA broadcasts were abruptly shut down in March under an executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump, who clashed with VOA during his first term, picked Lake, a former news anchor, to be its director for his second. Lake, a staunch ally of the president, has often accused mainstream media of harboring anti-Trump bias. Founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA reached 360 million people a week in 2024, according to a USAGM report to Congress.