Trump’s First Staff Shuffle: Lake Moves to State
The Trump administration has made its first significant personnel adjustment, shifting Kari Lake from her role overseeing Voice of America’s dismantling to an ill-defined position within the State Department. The move comes amid ongoing legal challenges to the administration’s attempt to shutter VOA and its parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
Lake, who lost both Arizona gubernatorial and senatorial races before joining the administration, will apparently continue working to scale back America’s international broadcasting operations, but now from within the diplomatic apparatus of the State Department. According to Yahoo News, Lake’s new position will involve coordinating between USAGM and State as the administration pursues its goal of reducing government-sponsored international media.
“I remain committed to effectuating President Trump’s mission to modernize and reform the way we tell America’s story around the world while protecting the interest of the American taxpayer,” Lake stated, signaling continuity in her mission despite the departmental change. “We look forward to working with interagency counterparts including the Department of State under the strong leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.”
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Legal Obstacles Mount
The staff shuffle comes as federal judges have temporarily blocked the administration’s effort to completely shut down VOA and related media outlets. The courts have ruled that the Trump administration cannot unilaterally dismantle news organizations established by congressional legislation, creating a significant legal hurdle for Lake’s mission.
On March 14, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling several government agencies, including USAGM, a move championed by Tesla billionaire Elon Musk through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The day after the order, Lake directed approximately 1,000 journalists to check their email regarding indefinite leave notices, while simultaneously attempting to revoke the government’s contract with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Robert Reilly, who served as VOA director during both the Reagan administration and Trump’s first term, expressed alarm about the current approach. “The U.S. has enduring interests in the world. We need to explain ourselves in the most persuasive way we can, and by the most effective means, particularly to those peoples and countries whose future is going to most affect ours. Destroying the Voice of America is not the way to do this,” he told the Daily Beast, as reported by Yahoo News.
Kari Lake buried on MSNBC over 'silly and stupid' new job in Trump's State Department https://t.co/7k2QbZSvRI
— Raw Story (@RawStory) April 12, 2025
Rapidly Shifting Positions
Lake’s stance on VOA has undergone remarkable evolution in a compressed timeframe. Initially announced as the organization’s new director in December, she never received the formal nomination for that position. Instead, she was appointed senior adviser to USAGM before the agency faced elimination through executive order.
During a February speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Lake described VOA as a potential “weapon” in an “information war,” stating, “We are fighting an information war, and there’s no better weapon than the truth. And I believe the Voice of America can be that weapon,” according to The Arizona Republic.
Just weeks later, after Trump’s executive order to dismantle the agency, Lake performed a complete reversal, describing USAGM as “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer—a national security risk for this nation—and irretrievably broken.” This dramatic shift in rhetoric has raised questions about consistency in the administration’s approach to public diplomacy.
Historical Context
Voice of America, founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, had grown to reach approximately 354 million weekly viewers worldwide as of December. Throughout its 83-year history, VOA has maintained editorial independence while providing news to audiences in countries where press freedom is limited or nonexistent.
The Trump administration’s effort to eliminate VOA represents a significant departure from decades of bipartisan support for America’s international broadcasting. Approximately 3,500 journalists have been affected by the attempted shutdown, with many placed on indefinite leave while legal challenges proceed.
Lake, whose background includes years as a Fox 10 news anchor in Phoenix before her unsuccessful political campaigns, has been a consistent critic of mainstream media. At the Republican National Convention last year, she referred to journalists as “monsters” and criticized what she termed “fake news” for “lying about President Donald Trump,” as noted by Arizona Republic.
Her transition to the State Department represents a new chapter in the administration’s complex relationship with international broadcasting, as it seeks alternative methods to project American messaging abroad while reducing federal expenditures on media operations established during the Cold War.
The Washington Post reports that Lake’s new role could take effect as early as this week, though the exact parameters of her responsibilities remain undefined as the administration navigates legal challenges to its media restructuring efforts.
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