President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Friday that seeks to dismantle eight federal agencies, with the latest action building on his prior directive to eliminate elements of the federal bureaucracy deemed “unnecessary.”
He has given agency heads seven days to report compliance to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—or justify the continued existence of whichever functions still remain.
It further notes that cutting the eight agencies will streamline government priorities, save taxpayer dollars, and “drain the swamp.”
Trump’s order names seven agencies that are slated for elimination: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, United States Agency for Global Media, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Institute of Museum and Library Services, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency.
The White House fact sheet identifies an eighth entity to be wound down—the Arctic Research Commission.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House with a request for confirmation that the Arctic Research Commission is encompassed by Trump’s latest directive.
The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which runs Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia, has been in Trump’s crosshairs since his first term. With an annual budget of around $900 million that operates networks broadcasting in more than 60 languages and around 100 countries, USAGM has been a target of criticism from Trump’s allies, who argue it operates with a liberal bias.
She was sworn in as a senior adviser for the USAGM on March 3, as she awaits further action on her VOA nomination.
The moves represent the latest steps by Trump to reshape the federal bureaucracy and make its operations leaner. The president has tasked tech entrepreneur Elon Musk with leading that effort in his role as a special government employee in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump has said he and members of his administration are committed to finding ways to cut federal spending and reform government at a “historic level,” with the president setting a goal for DOGE to identify $2 trillion in wasteful spending before its scheduled dissolution on Independence Day in 2026.