The Trump administration's choice to oversee government-run news outlets like Voice of America told a congressional committee on Wednesday that "it's best to just scrap the whole thing and start over."
Kari Lake , the former Arizona newscaster turned Republican politician, testified that the U.S. Agency for Global Media is "rotten to the core" and that any salvageable parts should be put under the control of the U.S. State Department.
Lake appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee days after layoff notices were sent to hundreds of employees at the agency and Voice of America, cutting its staff by 85. With politicians speaking over and around each other, the hearing amounted to a debate on what role journalism should have in spreading American influence abroad.
Lake said she is following President Donald Trump's directive to cut the dozens of outlets to the core, with most already shut down or sharply curtailed. She characterized many broadcasts as anti-American or promoting liberal bias, pointing to efforts by Chinese government representatives in the U.S. to influence Mandarin-language content on Radio Free Asia.
Trump backs up Lake via social media post