Democrats urge Rubio, Noem to protect USAGM foreign journalists
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The Trump administration has targeted U.S. government-funded broadcasters like Voice of America. Photo: Fatih Aktas /Anadolu via Getty Images
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday penned joint letters to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem urging them to protect and prioritize the safety of journalists affiliated with U.S. government-funded international broadcasters, according to copies of the letters obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is currently entangled in several messy legal battles over its efforts to dismantle broadcasters under the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
- USAGM outlets fighting back include Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
- Lawmakers are concerned that journalists affiliated with those outlets facing safety issues in their home countries will languish amid the legal drama.
State of play: "If U.S.-based USAGM affiliated personnel's employment were to be terminated, the basis for their presence in the United States would be jeopardized — in many cases forcing them to return to authoritarian countries where they are at risk of being interrogated, jailed, or persecuted," Shaheen and Van Hollen wrote in their letter to Noem.
- "USAGM affiliated personnel based outside of the U.S. could also be placed in jeopardy of a forced return to their authoritarian homelands by their current countries of domicile were their employment to be terminated."
- They asked that Noem provide a briefing to their staffs on the issue "no later than June 6."
- The State Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zoom out: USAGM broadcasters rely on congressionally approved funding to bring non-partisan news coverage to developing and autocratic countries around the world, including countries that face imminent risk of backsliding from democracy.
- Their work is often considered dangerous, especially in places with limited protections for journalists and free speech.
- Around the world, there are at least 11 USAGM-supported employees jailed in places like Vietnam, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Myanmar.
- In their joint letter to Rubio, Shaheen and Van Hollen requested that the secretary raise concerns about their cases and direct relevant regional bureaus to engage on their behalf where appropriate.
- They also requested that he provide a plan to secure these journalists' release following grant terminations for USAGM networks and its entities.
The big picture: For decades, support for government-funded international broadcasters was bipartisan. But in recent years, Republicans in Congress have shown less support for saving those agencies.
- The first Trump administration tried to target USAGM on a smaller scale, but largely faced legal setbacks.
- In the second Trump administration, those efforts have ramped up significantly. The Trump administration ordered the firings of hundreds of workers at USAGM broadcasters earlier this year. Those outlets and some of their employees have subsequently sued the administration, with mixed results.
What to watch: While the administration faced early legal setbacks, broadcasters have since faced challenges.
- A federal appellate court said Thursday it wouldn't intervene after an earlier decision temporarily paused a ruling that ordered the administration to reinstate workers.
- While the government withdrew its termination of a RFE/RL grant, the agency was still forced to lay off most of its staff amid an ongoing funding fight with the administration.
