Layoffs At U.S. Government Funded 'Radio Free Europe' Begin, End Seems Near

Media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which is funded by the U.S. government, began placing its staff on leave on Tuesday after funding for the month of April had not been received.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order cutting funding to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which funds RFE/RL and Voice of America (VOA). RFE/RL was founded in 1949 to broadcast pro-Western propaganda in Eastern Bloc countries. Radio Free Europe would broadcast in Soviet satellite countries while Radio Liberty would broadcast in the Soviet Union itself. 

In the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, RFE began broadcasting messages which encouraged anti-Soviet factions in the country to fight. In 1994, RFE began broadcasting within former Yugoslavia and in Macedonia in 2001 when Macedonia was still part of Yugoslavia along with Serba.

Ever since the end of the Cold War there have been debates on the need for keeping a Cold War era enterprise running. Back in February, American billionaire and close ally of President Trump, Elon Musk, stated on his X (formerly Twitter) “1. Europe is already free……. 2. Nobody listens to them anymore.”

There has been resistance to the move to close down the outlets. On March 25th, a judge ruled to temporarily block USAGM from defunding RFE/RL, however with the layoffs happening, the outlet announced they still have not received any new funding from USAGM for the month of April.

Like with much of Donald Trump’s policy to cut back on government spending and bureaucracy, it will be challenged in the courts and may ultimately come down to a Supreme Court decision to settle the various lawsuits attempting to block these attempts.