Trump signed EO 14238 directing elimination of USAGM, IMLS, and five other congressionally-created agencies

On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14238, "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy," directing seven congressionally-created federal agencies to eliminate all non-statutory functions and reduce their statutory mandates to the minimum required by law. The agencies targeted were: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM — parent of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). Each agency head was required to submit a compliance report to the Office of Management and Budget within seven days confirming elimination of non-statutory functions and identifying any statutory minimums that must continue. OMB was simultaneously directed to reject future funding requests inconsistent with the elimination mandate.

EO 14238 was a sequel to EO 14217 ("Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy," February 19, 2025), which had targeted an earlier tranche of independent agencies. The seven agencies collectively served millions of Americans: IMLS alone funded public libraries handling over 1.3 billion patron visits annually, the CDFI Fund provided capital access to underserved communities, MBDA was the only federal agency dedicated specifically to minority-owned businesses, and USAGM broadcast to an estimated 360 million people weekly in 63 languages in countries with restricted press freedom.

Courts subsequently ruled that aspects of the closure program exceeded executive authority. Because each of the seven agencies was established by Congress through specific authorizing legislation, only Congress has the power to abolish them — a principle rooted in the separation of powers framework the Constitution establishes. The GAO separately found that funding restrictions flowing from this and related orders violated the Impoundment Control Act, which requires the executive to spend funds appropriated by Congress.

Updates

2026-03-08 — Judge ruled Kari Lake acted unlawfully, voided her USAGM actions [6, 7]

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled that Kari Lake had no lawful authority in running USAGM and declared all of her actions over the prior year null and void, including the mass layoffs of more than 1,000 VOA/USAGM journalists and staffers, dismissal of all contractors, firing of VOA's director, a content-carriage deal with One America News, withholding of funds from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, and cancellation of a headquarters lease. Lamberth wrote "Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution." Lake said she would appeal.

2026-07-30 — USAGM nominee suggested returning VOA journalists from administrative leave [4, 5]

Sarah B. Rogers, Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, told her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing that she supports returning to work the roughly 1,000 Voice of America employees still on paid administrative leave since the administration's effort to shut the network down. Federal courts had already ruled the mass layoffs unlawful and ordered VOA's reinstatement, though an appeals court paused that order; Rogers's stated position signaled a possible administration reversal on USAGM staffing while the litigation continued.