Trump orders gutting of 7 agencies, including Voice of America`s  parent

ArmInfo. The order targeting the agencies, largely obscure entities that address issues like labor mediation and homelessness prevention, appeared to test the bounds of  the president's power.

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday seeking to  dismantle seven additional federal agencies, including the one that  oversees Voice of America and other government-funded media outlets  around the world.

Mr. Trump directed the heads of the agencies, largely obscure  entities that address issues like labor mediation and homelessness  prevention, to eliminate all functions that are not statutorily  mandated. The leaders should also "reduce the performance of their  statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence  and function required by law," the order said.

Like many of the president's moves in his broad-ranging effort to  shrink the government, the order appears to test the bounds of his  authority. Voice of America's parent, the U.S. Agency for Global  Media, for example, is congressionally chartered as an independent  agency, and Congress passed a law in 2020 intended to limit the power  of the agency's presidentially appointed chief executive.

In addition to Voice of America, the Agency for Global Media funds  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. The  organization, with a budget of roughly $270 million and more than  2,000 employees, broadcasts in 49 languages. It has a weekly  estimated audience of more than 361 million people.

The media outlets are intended to provide unbiased news to audiences  around the world, but Mr. Trump has criticized its editorial  decisions since his first term. Mr. Trump had already stirred fears  at the agency by tapping Kari Lake, a fierce loyalist who ran  unsuccessfully for governor and Senate in Arizona, to serve as a  special adviser there.

The other agencies Mr. Trump targeted Friday are the Federal  Mediation and Conciliation Service, which works to prevent and  resolve work stoppages and labor disputes; the Woodrow Wilson  International Center for Scholars, a nonpartisan think tank; the  Institute of Museum and Library Services, which funds and supports  museums, libraries and archives; the U.S. Interagency Council on  Homelessness, which works to prevent and end homelessness; the  Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which provides  financial assistance to struggling communities; and the Minority  Business Development Agency, which aims to bolster minority-owned  businesses