Once again, the D.C. swamp can’t help but try to hamstring the Trump administration’s efforts to cut waste and rein in rogue government operations.
This time, it’s over a Cold War relic—Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)—a taxpayer-funded media outlet originally cooked up by the CIA to push anti-Soviet messaging behind the Iron Curtain. Back then, it made sense. Today? It’s just another bloated legacy bureaucracy with a 1950s mission and a 2025 price tag.
And yet, when President Trump moves to shut the lights off on this outdated operation, a Reagan-appointed federal judge—Royce Lamberth—jumps in with a temporary restraining order. Why? Because, apparently, executive authority doesn’t extend to trimming the fat off the federal trough anymore.
Let’s be clear: RFE/RL has been running on autopilot for decades, bloating itself under the guise of “promoting democracy.” That’s Beltway-speak for shoveling taxpayer dollars into a global news network that’s now indistinguishable from the woke Western media it’s supposed to contrast.
Voice of America, another so-called U.S. media outlet under the same umbrella, has been described by Trump’s own administration as the “Voice for Radical America.” Not exactly the spirit of Radio Free Europe’s Cold War roots.
Yet the moment Kari Lake—tasked with overseeing the U.S. Agency for Global Media—moved to freeze $7.5 million in funding as part of Trump’s executive order to gut non-essential, non-statutory operations, the lawsuits started flying. Now federal judges and activist groups are treating this like a five-alarm fire, not a common-sense budgetary correction.
The reality? Congress funds this thing. The executive enforces the law. But instead of a coordinated wind-down, the Biden-appointed bureaucrats embedded in the deep state are tying up this effort in court—complete with sob stories about layoffs and half-baked claims that America needs a propaganda outlet in Prague to survive the 21st century.
Meanwhile, reporters from Voice of America and the usual gang of international NGOs (including Reporters Without Borders) are piling on with lawsuits of their own, playing the same tired card: “It’s about press freedom.” No, it’s not. It’s about money. It’s about influence. And it’s about keeping one more taxpayer-funded machine humming for the benefit of people who never voted for this government to begin with.
The White House’s position is grounded in law. Trump’s executive order specifically targets “non-statutory components,” demanding that these sprawling media entities reduce operations to the minimum required by law. That’s not tyranny—that’s constitutional stewardship. But in modern D.C., following the law is controversial when it means trimming government waste and shutting down leftist megaphones.
