On March 25, dozens of U.S. lawmakers called on President Donald Trump to revoke the order to close the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), arguing that this move would have a harmful impact on broadcasters, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and would only aid Washington’s adversaries, such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
In a letter addressed to Trump, signed by over 40 members of Congress, it was stated that closing USAGM would damage the credibility of the U.S. and its global standing.
“This would leave millions of people in closed and repressive environments – from Havana to Caracas, from Minsk to Tehran – with fewer opportunities to access information about the world around them,” the letter stated.
“We urge you to revoke the executive order and ensure the continuation of the vital work of the U.S. Agency for Global Media and its broadcasters.”
Representative Bill Keating (D-MA), a member of the Europe Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that RFE/RL, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and other media overseen by USAGM, “serve as vital tools of soft power” that allow people in closed societies to access reliable and objective information.
“Their work is so powerful that regimes in Iran, Russia, and China have deemed it a threat to national security,” Keating said in a media statement, describing Trump’s executive order of March 14 as “reckless” and stating that it “emboldens U.S. adversaries who feel threatened by reliable media.”
The letter stated that the networks and beneficiaries of USAGM funding play a historic and crucial role in providing fair and comprehensive news coverage in countries where there is no free or open media environment.
“Closing RFE/RL would allow governments in Russia, Belarus, Iran, and Central Asia to spread their regime’s propaganda messages without the fear of being held accountable for RFE/RL’s award-winning reporting,” the letter continued.
The letter was sent to Trump on the same day that a U.S. judge issued an order in favor of RFE/RL in its lawsuit against USAGM, where the media outlet is seeking the cancellation of the decision to cut funding approved by the U.S. Congress.
Judge Royce Lamberth stated that USAGM likely acted “in an arbitrary and capricious manner” when it cut RFE/RL’s grant, and that these actions would cause the broadcaster “irreparable harm” if finalized.
Lamberth called for a temporary restraining order to prevent the closure of RFE/RL, adding that it appears the radio station has a good chance of winning the case in court.
Opposition leader from Belarus, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, also spoke about the threat to RFE/RL on March 25.
“Free media are our link to the truth, between people in exile and those in their homeland,” she said during a speech in the Lithuanian parliament. “If these media die, they will be replaced by propaganda media.”
RFE/RL has an office in Lithuania, from where it covers neighboring Belarus. The office employs Belarusian journalists who fled the country in 2020 after contested elections in which Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner. The opposition, many Western governments, and organizations believe the elections were manipulated, and Tsikhanouskaya was the true winner.
Tsikhanouskaya had run in the presidential election after her husband, Syarhey Tsikhanouski, was arrested to prevent him from registering as a candidate. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
