The Voice of America (VOA), a U.S. government-funded international broadcaster, has been effectively dismantled after the Trump administration terminated the majority of its remaining workforce.

The decision, which affects hundreds of journalists, has drawn sharp criticism from within and outside the organization.

Citing widespread “dysfunction, bias, and waste,” the administration justified the mass layoffs as part of a broader effort to downsize federal agencies.

In total, 639 employees were dismissed on Friday, including journalists from the Persian-language service.

Many of them, who had only recently been recalled to duty following a military escalation between Israel and Iran, were reportedly locked out of the building after stepping outside for a break.

Steve Herman, VOA’s chief national correspondent, described the sweeping cuts as a “historic act of self-sabotage,” lamenting the loss of an institution that was established during World War II to counteract Nazi propaganda and promote American democratic values worldwide.

Kari Lake, who was appointed by President Trump to oversee VOA, announced the layoffs in a statement, emphasizing they were part of the president’s strategy to scale back what she called an “out-of-control federal bureaucracy.”

According to Lake, just 50 staff members will remain employed across VOA, its parent agency the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.

Since March, the administration has dismissed more than 85% of the agency's roughly 1,400 employees, fulfilling an earlier directive by Trump to dismantle VOA and USAGM “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”

These organizations have long played a critical role in providing uncensored news in authoritarian states such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Cambodia.

In response to the latest round of dismissals, three VOA journalists involved in a legal battle to prevent the outlet’s closure released a statement calling the move “the end of 83 years of independent journalism that championed democracy and freedom on the global stage.”

Though the decision came as no surprise, it marks the culmination of Trump’s ongoing campaign against U.S. media institutions.

He has previously accused VOA of promoting narratives that align with left-leaning media and has urged Republicans to strip federal funding from NPR and PBS.

Former VOA correspondent Dan Robinson echoed these sentiments in a previous op-ed, claiming the organization had strayed from its mission and become increasingly partisan.

The shutdown of VOA raises broader questions about the future of publicly funded journalism in the United States and the country's global influence through media diplomacy.