The U.S Agency for Global Media (USAGM) said on Thursday it will appoint former Fox television anchor-turned-politician Kari Lake to the role of special advisor.
The move comes about two months after then-President Elect Donald Trump said he intended to nominate Lake to serve as the Director General of Voice of America (VOA), the external news and current affairs broadcaster that is operated by USAGM.
Lake’s nomination has been held up at USAGM because Trump’s choice to lead the agency, L. Brent Bozell, III, has yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Bozell is best known as the founder of the Media Research Center, a watchdog organization that is critical of perceived progressive and partisan bias in mainstream media, particularly at television networks.
Roman Napoli, the acting CEO of USAGM, said Lake brings “a wealth of experience in broadcast journalism, having spent more than two decades as an anchor and reporter in major media markets.”
Kari will help USAGM “implement the policies and strategies needed to streamline the agency, its networks, and its grantees,” Napoli wrote in a memo to employees.
One day after Lake’s appointment was announced, VOA News was revealed to have placed its chief national correspondent Steve Herman on indefinite administrative leave amid concerns about his social media activities.
A letter cited by the New York Times said VOA News is investigating whether Herman’s social media posts “undermined VOA’s audiences’ perception of the objectivity and/or credibility of VOA and its news operations.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) represents the interest of VOA journalists, but it isn’t clear if Herman belongs to the union or if he has representation while suspended.
In early February, Herman drew criticism on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after he linked to a live blog on his Mastodon profile that included comments about the government’s decision to revoke funding for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The comments included a quote from Skye Perryman the President of a group called Democracy Forward, that said removed investments in USAID would make “Americans less safe at home or abroad.”
The post triggered a terse response from Richard Grenell, a special advisor who works closely with the Trump administration, who questioned on social media why a “taxpayer-funded reporter” for Voice of America was “working against President Trump’s reform plans for the U.S. budget.”
“It isn’t too much to suggest this is treasonous,” Grenell said. He later noted that he felt Herman should “be immediately fired.”
The USAGM, which includes Voice of America and several other broadcasters, is funded through acts of Congress but considered free of influence from the U.S. government.
