WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kari Lake, senior advisor at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), announced the immediate cancellation of a $250 million, 15-year lease for office space on Pennsylvania Avenue, citing President Trump’s new executive order to reduce federal bureaucracy.
The move aligns with the March 14 directive titled Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, and comes as USAGM begins a sweeping downsizing of all non-statutory functions across its divisions, including Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and affiliated grantee organizations.
Lake stated the agency will now operate strictly within its statutory mandate, with most affected employees placed on paid administrative leave starting Saturday. “Today we continue the process of streamlining our operations to what is statutorily required by law,” Lake said in a statement.
The canceled lease was reportedly valued at nearly $250 million for a high-rise without broadcasting capabilities and included a $9 million commission to a politically connected real estate broker. Lake described the lease as “obscene overspending,” pointing to it as a symbol of what she called rampant waste, fraud, and abuse within the agency.
Federal media overhaul targets alleged corruption
Additional allegations listed by Lake included the infiltration of “spies and terrorist sympathizers,” self-dealing in contracts and grants, and hundreds of millions spent on “fake news companies” that echoed narratives of foreign adversaries. She said such practices were shielded from reform by entrenched interests working to “Trump-proof” the agency.
Lake emphasized that while some employees are “talented and dedicated public servants,” the agency as a whole is “irretrievably broken.” She pledged to restore accountability and focus on modernizing USAGM’s mission of global broadcasting within lawful limits.
Key Points
- USAGM cancels $250M lease and begins agency-wide downsizing per Trump’s executive order
- Most USAGM, VOA, and Cuba Broadcasting staff placed on paid leave
- Kari Lake cites national security risks, financial waste, and political obstruction in agency operations
Lake said the agency would continue only its legal functions while eliminating programs outside its statutory scope.
Kari Lake axes costly lease and begins sweeping federal media purge under Trump directive.