Wanna see waste? – This is waste

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In an era where cost-cutting reigns supreme, the Biden Administration’s $250 million, 15-year lease for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) at 1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, signed in September 2024, stands as a bloated miscalculation—trading the functional Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, ripe for a cheaper upgrade, for unnecessary luxury like marble floors and leather chairs, only for Kari Lake, taking charge as Senior Advisor on March 3, 2025, to ruthlessly streamline it all—nixing the lease on March 16, slashing over 1,300 VOA jobs to indefinite leave, cutting Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting contracts, firing 11 journalists, and ditching AP, Reuters, and AFP ties, all driven by Trump’s March 15 executive order to shrink bureaucracy—proving efficiency demands lean, decisive cuts, not lavish overhauls, with the old Cohen Building left as a testament to what smarter resource use could’ve achieved.

The Cohen Building, with its Stripped Classical and Egyptian Revival flair, may not be a tech marvel, but it’s a sturdy, historic structure that’s stood the test of time. Sure, it wasn’t built with TikTok-era broadcasting in mind, but couldn’t some elbow grease and a few million in upgrades have brought it up to speed? Instead, USAGM is shelling out $16.67 million a year—claiming it’ll save $150 million over keeping and fixing the old place. That math feels optimistic, especially when taxpayers are already tightening belts elsewhere.

The agency touts “technological capabilities” and “efficiency” as the big wins here, but in an age of Zoom and remote everything, how much glass-and-steel grandeur does a media outfit really need to fight global censorship? Posts on X have slammed this as a boondoggle, and it’s hard to disagree when the old building’s still standing, functional, and paid for. Phasing this move over years only drags out the expense, making the choice to abandon a viable asset look less like strategy and more like a failure to prioritize thrift. Couldn’t they have made do? In 2025, when every dollar counts, this feels like a misstep dressed up as progress.

What else has Kari done?

Under Kari Lake’s tenure as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), significant layoffs and operational downsizing have occurred as part of a broader push to reduce federal spending and align with President Trump’s cost-cutting agenda. Lake, sworn in on March 3, 2025, has overseen a rapid and aggressive overhaul of the agency, which oversees Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, reflecting the influence of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk.

On March 15, 2025, following Trump’s Executive Order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” the USAGM took drastic steps. Over 1,300 VOA employees—roughly a third of the agency’s total workforce of approximately 3,500—were placed on indefinite paid leave, effectively sidelining them without immediate termination but halting their work. This move, reported as a response to the executive order mandating the elimination of non-statutory functions, was described by Lake as a necessary step to address an agency she called “irretrievably broken” and a “burden to the American taxpayer.” Concurrently, the agency terminated funding and contracts for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, severing ties with these nonprofit broadcasters despite their historical role in countering authoritarian propaganda.

Earlier actions under Lake’s watch included the firing of nine probationary VOA journalists and two from the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, moves executed over the objections of VOA’s senior management. These initial cuts, reported around March 10, 2025, signaled the beginning of a broader purge. Additionally, on March 13, Lake announced the termination of USAGM contracts with major news services like the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, framing it as a cost-saving measure to eliminate “nonsense” funded by taxpayers. Reports also indicate offers of buyouts to VOA staff, hinting at further reductions to come, though specifics on numbers remain unclear.

The layoffs and contract terminations have sparked chaos within the agency. Freelancers have gone unpaid since February 2025 due to frozen funds, and the abrupt cancellation of a $250 million, 15-year lease for a new headquarters at 1875 Pennsylvania Avenue—signed under the Biden Administration—on March 16, 2025, underscored Lake’s commitment to slashing what she deemed “obscenely expensive” expenditures.

Critics, including some VOA staff and congressional Democrats, decry these moves as a reckless dismantling of a vital institution, potentially crippling its 420 million weekly audience reach across 100+ countries. Supporters, aligned with Musk’s DOGE vision, applaud the cuts as a long-overdue reckoning with waste, with Musk himself mocking the agency as the “Department of Propaganda Everywhere” on March 15. Lake’s rhetoric—calling USAGM a “national security risk” and “giant rot”—suggests she views the old building’s retention as irrelevant to her goal of gutting non-essential operations, though no clear plan has emerged for how remaining statutory functions will be maintained amidst such upheaval.

Exact layoff figures beyond the 1,300 on leave and the initial 11 firings are murky, as USAGM has not responded to detailed inquiries, and the situation remains fluid with a congressional budget deadline looming on March 20, 2025. The Cohen Building, while outdated, could have been a cost-effective hub with targeted upgrades—think $50-$100 million versus the $250 million lease—but Lake’s approach prioritizes slashing over salvaging, leaving the agency’s future capacity in doubt. In this climate of austerity, the layoffs under Lake reflect not just a rejection of the Biden-era lease but a broader ideological purge, with the old building standing as a symbol of what could have been retooled but was instead bypassed in the rush to downsize.