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US reinstates funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty after court’s decision

Trump administration reverses Radio Free Europe defunding, restoring federal grants amid legal challenges and global media policy debates.

byOlena Mukhina

27/03/2025

3 minute read

Logo of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on its newly constructed building in Prague, Czech Republic, September 2008 (Image: Petr Kadlec via Wikimedia)

US reinstates funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty after court’s decision

The US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has reversed its decision to cancel the grant for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, confirms a letter from Senior Advisor to the USAGM Chief, Kari Lake, to Radio Free Europe’s Executive Director, Steve Capus, according to The Independent.

On 14 March, US President Donald Trump ordered the closure of seven government agencies, including USAGM, which oversees Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. All employees were placed on furlough, and the White House declared that US taxpayers would no longer be on the hook for radical propaganda.

The letter said that the earlier decision to terminate the grant agreement was rescinded, which means Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty would continue receiving federal funds for now.

However, Lake added that the grant agreement could still be canceled later if USAGM determines it is warranted under existing law.

Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s defunding of Radio Free Europe global news media

Lake also responded to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s lawsuit, informing the court that the grant termination had been reversed to end the legal dispute with the broadcaster.

RFE/RL is a broadcasting organization created by the US, which initially aimed to reach audiences behind the Iron Curtain to counter state propaganda in the Soviet Union. After the Cold War era, it continued to provide independent news and political commentary to people in countries where the free press is limited or nonexistent.

Earlier, the Czech Republic garnered support from twelve European countries for an initiative to preserve Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after the US government announced its defunding.

Ukrainian journalist Vitaliy Portnikov, who has worked with RFE/RL for 35 years, criticized Trump’s actions as a betrayal of democracy, particularly in the context of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the rise of authoritarianism globally.

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