Trump Administration Pays $1.6 Million Weekly for 420 VOA Staff on Leave

1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 2

$1.6 million a week is being spent to keep 420 Voice of America employees on administrative leave, according to July figures cited in a State Department inspector general report published this week.
Those staffers have been sidelined since March 2025, when the Trump administration moved to dismantle VOA rather than return them to work or complete a broader restructuring.
More than a year later, the arrangement leaves the government paying ongoing salary costs for hundreds of employees while the broadcaster remains in limbo.