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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Nearly 600 Voice of America (VOA) employees, primarily contractors, were fired as part of a Trump administration overhaul of the agency.
👥 Who’s Involved: The Trump administration, U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VOA employees, and senior adviser Kari Lake.
Your free, daily feed from The National Pulse.
📍 Where & When: The firings were announced this week, with the employees’ last day set for May 30.
💬 Key Quote: Kari Lake stated, “I don’t have editorial control over the content of VOA and OCB programming, but I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs.”
⚠️ Impact: The dismissals represent one-third of VOA’s workforce and coincide with a shift toward using One America News Network for news-feed services.
IN FULL:
The Trump administration has terminated nearly 600 employees at Voice of America (VOA) as part of a broader effort to reform the agency. The affected individuals, many of whom are contractors, were informed this week that their employment will end on May 30.
The dismissals account for approximately one-third of the agency’s workforce. Employees were instructed to return VOA property, including badges and credentials, by the same date. The move comes amid a restructuring of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA.
This wave of firings follows an announcement by USAGM senior adviser Kari Lake that One America News Network (OANN) will now provide news-feed services to the agency’s outlets. Lake emphasized her role in ensuring credible and reliable options for the agency’s reporting, stating, “I don’t have editorial control over the content of VOA and OCB programming, but I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs.”
The restructuring efforts have faced legal challenges. Last month, a federal judge ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle VOA and its affiliated services. Despite this, the administration appears committed to reshaping the agency’s operations and partnerships.
VOA has been a source of controversy in the past. In 2020, the news outlet was accused of parroting propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuts to the USAGM have also affected other broadcasters like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration in March, arguing President Trump violated the Constitution by withholding Congress-approved funding.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will allow Verizon’s purchase of Frontier, a regional telecom company, to move forward, with the former agreeing to enact a series of reforms in alignment with President Donald J. Trump’s pro-worker, America First agenda.
👥 Who’s Involved: Verizon, Frontier, the FCC, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, tower climbers, and telecom workers.
Your free, daily feed from The National Pulse.
📍 Where & When: Washington, D.C., on Friday, May 16, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “The agreement between NATE, Verizon, and the FCC is massive news. As a 36-year tower contractor and employer of over 200 tower technicians, this brings fairness back to our relationship. We can’t thank Chairman Carr enough for looking out for Main Street while still being fair to Wall Street. We hope T-Mobile and AT&T will follow Verizon’s lead,” said Craig Snyder, a tower climber and one of the negotiators for his industry in the Verizon acquisition deal, in comments to The National Pulse.
⚠️ Impact: Verizon’s acquisition approval comes with a commitment to ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs and agreeing to a new set of pro-worker conditions with the tower climber and telecom worker industries.
IN FULL:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is allowing telecom giant Verizon to acquire Frontier, a regional communications company, with the aim of expanding its fiber Internet service. Notably, Verizon’s acquisition was contingent on a series of policy and labor practice changes, in alignment with President Donald J. Trump’s pro-worker America First agenda, imposed by the FCC through its regulatory authority.
“By approving this deal, the FCC ensures that Americans will benefit from a series of good and common-sense wins. The transaction will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country—including rural America,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement announcing the acquisition approval. “This investment will accelerate the transition away from old, copper line networks to modern, high-speed ones. And it delivers for America’s tower and telecom crews who do the hard, often gritty work needed to build high-speed networks.”
One of the biggest concessions being made by Verizon is the company’s decision to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs. In a letter to Chairman Carr on May 15, the telecom company acknowledged that it “recognizes some DEI policies and practices could be associated with discrimination.” Verizon goes on to announce that it “is changing its HR structure and will no longer have a team or any individual roles focused on DEI.” The move comes after Chairman Carr informed a number of telecom and Internet technology companies that the FCC would halt license approvals and authorizations for those that maintain discriminatory DEI programs.
The FCC also highlights that the deal represents a win for American workers. Verizon, as part of the approval, is committing to rework its agreements with NATE, the Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, and remove the costly burdens its policies have placed on tower climbers. These new provisions include taking into account considerations in pricing when it comes to site conditions, the adoption of regional pricing for tower climbers and telecom workers’ labor, 30-day payment terms with fair indemnity clauses, and limits on Verizon’s use of 1099 outside contractors, which have been used to undercut worker wages.
Craig Snyder, a tower climber and negotiator for his industry in the Verizon acquisition deal, told The National Pulse: “The agreement between NATE, Verizon, and the FCC is massive news. As a 36-year tower contractor and employer of over 200 tower technicians, this brings fairness back to our relationship. We can’t thank Chairman Carr enough for looking out for Main Street while still being fair to Wall Street. We hope T-Mobile and AT&T will follow Verizon’s lead.”
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