More than a year after the Trump administration dismantled Voice of America, the agency is still costing the government millions.

VOA, the U.S. government's official international broadcaster, falls under the U.S. Agency for Global Media. USAGM still had 420 employees on paid administrative leave in July 2026, costing an estimated $82.8 million a year.

The State Department's Office of Inspector General detailed the findings in a September 2026 evaluation. USAGM estimated the leave cost at $3.2 million biweekly.

One-Day Shutdown Broke From Past Federal Reforms

The costs trace back to an order signed in March 2025 by President Donald Trump. It directed USAGM to eliminate its non-statutory functions, meaning those not required by law, and to reduce the rest to "the minimum presence and function required by law."

The Trump administration said the move meant "taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda." The agency acted the next day. In a report to the Office of Management and Budget, USAGM said it took "aggressive and immediate steps" to comply. It placed 994 of its 1,147 federal employees on administrative leave, a status in which workers are paid but do not work. It also canceled 594 of its 602 personal services contracts and halted most broadcasting.

OIG said USAGM did not follow key practices for agency reform set out by the Government Accountability Office, the congressional watchdog. Based on interviews with officials, the report said the reduction was carried out "without a detailed analysis of the cost" or its effect on the agency's mission.

The speed also stood out. OIG called the timeframe "unprecedented." Earlier federal reorganizations took between 96 days and 19 months. USAGM's began in one day.

Court Fight Keeps the Paid-Leave Bill Running

Legal challenges then upended the plan. USAGM issued layoff notices, known as a reduction in force, in June 2025 but rescinded them because of errors. It reissued them in August 2025.

In March 2026, a federal court ruled the August layoffs null and void and ordered employees back to work. An appeals court temporarily paused part of that order on March 31. Because of the ongoing legal proceedings, 420 employees remained on paid leave as of July 2026, OIG said. USAGM had projected payroll savings from the layoffs in August 2025.

Audit Gaps

USAGM requested $153 million to shut down in fiscal 2026. Congress instead appropriated $643 million for operations.

OIG said some cost-cutting decisions were later reversed at added expense to taxpayers. USAGM canceled contracts for IT security and property management, then moved to restart some of them. It also left a 15-year Washington lease, moved into a building that did not meet its needs, and moved again.

An independent auditor also issued a "disclaimer of opinion" on USAGM's fiscal 2025 financial statements, meaning it could not gather enough evidence to form a conclusion on them. The report linked the problem to staffing cuts. OIG also reported a decline in the agency's cybersecurity program.

VOA stopped producing new content in all 49 languages in March 2025. As of July 2026, it broadcast in seven.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by MarketDash editors.