The $200 Million Question: When Political Ambition Meets National Security

What does it cost when political ambition collides with national security? $200 million and counting, if Kari Lake's tenure at the U.S. Agency for Global Media is any indication.

For eleven months, the woman who called herself "Trump in heels" has presided over one of America's most critical but least understood institutions. While Chinese and Russian state media expanded their global reach, Lake systematically dismantled the very agency meant to counter their influence—all while 800 federal employees sat at home, collecting paychecks for work they weren't allowed to do.

The Unraveling of America's Voice

USAGM runs Voice of America and funds critical broadcasters like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia—services that reach hundreds of millions globally. These aren't propaganda outlets; by law, they're required to maintain editorial independence, providing factual news in places where independent media barely exists.

Lake's approach was different. After Trump signed an executive order to close the agency in March, she embraced the mission with unusual enthusiasm. She fired 500 contractors, placed 800 full-time employees on administrative leave, and began shutting down language services that had operated for decades.

The timing couldn't have been worse. When mass protests erupted in Iran amid internet blackouts, Radio Free Europe's Persian service had to rent commercial transmission equipment because Lake had blocked access to USAGM's own facilities. Voice of America's Spanish service was dark during the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, having been shuttered months earlier.

The Price of Inexperience

Lake arrived with impressive television credentials—20 years as a Phoenix news anchor—but minimal international journalism experience. During congressional testimony, she couldn't identify what language is spoken in Armenia, despite VOA operating an Armenian service. In a sworn deposition, she struggled to name Asian countries lacking free information sources, apparently forgetting North Korea.

Her management style raised eyebrows among career professionals. Multiple staffers report she rarely visited the VOA building, spending most time at an office in the State Department. When Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz tried to engage her, he managed just two encounters—once by accident in a hallway, once to hand-deliver a briefing book she never acknowledged reading.

The legal foundation for her authority remains murky. Because Trump removed most Senate-confirmed board members, Lake couldn't be formally appointed. She arrived as "special adviser," became "deputy CEO," then began calling herself "acting CEO"—a title she admitted under oath she has no documentation to support.

Following the Money Trail

The financial carnage tells its own story. From March through July alone, USAGM paid $69 million to employees forbidden from working. By conservative estimates, that figure has grown by another $50 million since August, with more than 500 people still on administrative leave.

Meanwhile, Lake canceled a carefully negotiated lease for new headquarters that would have saved $150 million over fifteen years. The building owner had provided two years of free rent and nine months for moving; the previous tenant threw in furniture. Lake's abrupt cancellation, allegedly without following proper procedures, could now expose taxpayers to liability for the entire $200 million lease.

Her team has also been hiring contractors to replace the experienced federal employees sitting at home—a costly double-payment system that defies basic fiscal logic.

The Propaganda Pivot

Perhaps most troubling is the shift in content. VOA's Mandarin service recently published articles echoing Trump's false claims about "securing agreements halting and restraining eight global conflicts in 2025." The service's Instagram feed now features heroic, Photoshopped images of Trump with American flags and helicopters.

This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the broadcasters' mission. Unlike the State Department, which promotes administration policy, these services are meant to provide credible news. Their power comes from that credibility—something that took decades to build and can be destroyed overnight.

Consider what was lost: Radio Free Asia's Uyghur service broke the story of mass arrests in Xinjiang in 2017, exposing a crackdown that forced 1.8 million people into concentration camps. That kind of reporting shapes international perceptions in ways that obvious propaganda never can.

The Waiting Room Reality

Lake's political calculations may have backfired spectacularly. In October, she was spotted waiting for hours in a White House lobby, hoping to secure Trump's endorsement for a potential congressional run. According to GOP operatives, she eventually met with a low-level aide who showed little enthusiasm for a third Lake candidacy.

Arizona Republican consultant Paul Bentz suggests MAGA voters have moved on: "They've got better candidates that they like more." Lake has since purchased a condo in her native Iowa, perhaps testing different political waters.