Updated March 19, 2025 at 14:44 PM ET
The Trump administration's goal of slashing the size of the federal government could mean less free press abroad, especially in countries with autocratic leaders.
Kari Lake, a two-time unsuccessful MAGA candidate and senior adviser to Trump on U.S. Agency for Global Media, issued an order on Saturday revoking funding from a number of U.S.-funded media outlets.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is one of those outlets, and its leadership is grappling with an uncertain future without its federal funding.
"We're living off of our savings right now," Stephen Capus, president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, told Morning Edition. "And we are in a position where we're going to have to take some pretty drastic actions in the not too distant future."
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is the first broadcaster to challenge the Trump administration's funding cut, and is doing so with a lawsuit against USAGM and two other officials, including Lake.
The suit alleges they violated the Constitution and federal laws by withholding money Congress expressly allocated for the broadcaster. Neither Lake nor USAGM have responded to NPR's requests for comment.
In tan interview with Morning Edition host Leila Fadel, Stephen Capus explained why his organization is filing the lawsuit, the service his outlet provides to those living under autocratic regimes, and how the move to cut funding benefits America's enemies.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Leila Fadel: Before we get to the lawsuit, I just want to give people a sense of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which has broadcast for 75 years. You share news in 27 languages to nearly two dozen autocratic countries with limited or no press freedoms like Russia. Now, Steve, when your funding was cut over the weekend, you called it a massive gift to America's enemies. Why a gift?
Stephen Capus: Because we're a lifeline to the people who live in those countries. And they have no access to information outside of largely government propaganda and other types of information like that.
So we're leaving the information battlefield, if you will, to these countries like Iran, like China, Russia 鈥� [countries] all over our coverage area, by the way. And so at a time when there's so much happening in the world, think about what's going on in the Middle East, all of the U.S. international broadcasters, including Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, are threatened. VOA has gone silent.
Fadel: Right, it's been replaced by music. What's the argument you're making in court?
Capus: Simply put, this was an unlawful act. USAGM does not have the ability to go around Congress. Congress has appropriated our funds. It's very clearly laid out in the budget and we expect our funding. USAGM is simply in the position to administer a grant of congressionally appropriated funds.
Fadel: Now, can you keep going without U.S. funding? As you pointed out, The Voice of America has been shuttered. There's been cuts to other private broadcasters like Radio Free Asia.
Capus: It's going to be tough. I mean, this is part of the reason why we went to court. We're living off of our savings right now. And we are in a position where we're going to have to take some pretty drastic actions in the not too distant future. Our audiences are already feeling the impact of the VOA shutdown or even USAGM, they've turned off transmitters. So our audiences inside Iran 鈥� and we reach 10% of the Iranian audience on average every week, 6.5 million people 鈥� those people have lost a significant part of their radio feeds, because the USAGM transmitters have gone dark. That's what we're hearing from thousands of our normal audience members.
Fadel: Now, you're based in Prague. And this week the Czech foreign minister asked the European Union to fill the gap in your funding. Can Europe fill the gap?
Capus: Well, we're immensely gratified that so many European nations have stepped up and said that they value this service. We've been around for 75 years. We've been in their neighborhoods, and they understand why it's necessary to stand up against Russia and China and Iran's growing malign influence all across the region. Our investigative reports, things like that, they understand the value.
Can they step up and fill the funding gap? We haven't gone forward to ask them that. For 75 years, we've looked to Congress to receive our funds and we want to get this resolved. But if it comes to it, then we'll be looking at alternatives and we have no choice. We can't let this vital institution go silent.
Fadel: Well, let me ask you about that. If you don't win in court, what happens to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and your journalists, including five journalists jailed in autocratic nations for their work?
Capus: I hate to think about it because these people, think about it, they're being held in Russia, in Iran, in Russian-controlled Crimea, in Azerbaijan in Belarus. Why do you think the leadership there is so threatened by our people? They're thrown into prison because they want to silence us. This is the dedication of our people, and this is what's at risk. Those governments don't want us in there. I think whenever anybody wants to silence us, we should speak up.
This story was edited for radio by Adam Bearne and edited for digital by Treye Green and Kristian Monroe. David Folkenflik contributed reporting.
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