The Washington Post posted on 13 January 2026 an article titled "Congress Agrees to Fund Voice of America, Bucking Trump Shutdown Order" by Scott Nover.
A bipartisan spending bill from both houses of Congress would allocate $643 million for broadcasting from the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees the Voice of America (VOA). While that figure is down from the $867 million appropriated for the agency each of the last two years, it is more than four times the $153 million the Trump administration requested that Congress provide to "support the orderly shutdown of USAGM operations." The package still needs full House and Senate approval before going to President Trump for signature.
In March, Trump called for the dismantlement of USAGM, which also funds Radio Free Asia, Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Europe. Kari Lake, the deputy CEO installed by Trump to shut down USAGM, placed more than 1,300 VOA staffers on paid administrative leave and halted broadcasting operations. It is the first time the VOA went silent since it was established in 1942.
Comment: The decision to dismantle USAGM was especially misguided. Elon Musk played a major role in the decision. It is refreshing there is bipartisan support in Congress to fund the agency, albeit at reduced levels. While this is not yet a done deal, it hopefully invokes the lyrics of the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst, chosen to represent Austria at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark:
Rise like a phoenix
Out of the ashes
Seeking rather than vengeance,
retribution
You were warned
Once I'm transformed, once I'm
reborn
I rise to the sky
You threw me down but
I'm gonna fly
