Silenced.

They killed the signal, but the story isn't over.

While Americans celebrated St. Patrick's Day, clinking glasses and filling the streets for parades—another American institution was quietly dismantled. The spotlight went out, and the microphones went static. This past weekend, journalists at Voice of America (VOA) arrived at work only to be turned away. Their decades-long mission to broadcast fact-based journalism to the world had abruptly stopped.

This was no ordinary policy shift. The Trump White House's press release labeled the organization "The Voice of Radical America." The executive order targeted VOA and extended to other agencies serving marginalized communities, global engagement, and public education, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and the Minority Business Development Agency. The pattern is clear: institutions fostering free thought, diversity, and the press are under attack.

Behind it all is President Trump executing another piece of his authoritarian-like playbook, aided by Kari Lake, his spinmaster extraordinaire. This wasn't spontaneous; it was premeditated. VOA has been on Trump's target list since his first term when he appointed Michael Pack CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Pack was accused of politicizing the agency, pushing pro-Trump narratives, and retaliating against journalists who didn't fall in line, leading to legal battles and whistleblower complaints.

Yet, there's more to this entire scenario. It's another action off the list of the broader ideological coup outlined in the Heritage Foundation's 1,000-page roadmap. Those who doubted its influence are now watching it unfold. So, let's talk about the real architects of this dismantling—the authors of Project 2025.

Mora Namdar, a former Trump administration official now reportedly advising Kari Lake, authored the media agencies chapter of Project 2025. Her vision outlined VOA no longer operating as an independent news agency but as a government propaganda mouthpiece—akin to Russia's RT. This isn't conjecture. Namdar was also previously investigated during Trump's first term as part of whistleblower complaints concerned with violations of VOA's firewall policy and mismanagement. Today, the blueprint she authored is now coming to life. I recommend listening to "The Whistleblowers" podcast to get context on what's happening currently. (I suggest listening to the entire series. You might recognize some familiar things happening all over again. Yours truly is an episode called "Homeland Insecurity" with my buddy Miles Taylor. Remember him? We'll revisit that episode soon when it comes to the Travel Ban.)

For over 80 years, VOA has been a pillar of U.S. soft power, countering authoritarian propaganda with independent reporting. It was a voice of truth against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Chinese Communist Party. It reached Iranians protesting for freedom, Russians resisting Putin's state-controlled media, and Venezuelans seeking news beyond their government's chokehold. And now? The Trump administration has turned its back on this legacy, abandoning America's global credibility and commitment to democracy. Just as they have abandoned Ukraine, they have also relentlessly demonized our federal institutions—branding public servants as the 'deep state' and gutting agencies across the board. This latest attack on our media and press freedom is yet another step in their broader assault on democracy.

But let's take this one step further to really understand what is happening. The destruction of VOA is more than an attack on journalism; it's a national security risk that gives foreign adversaries an easy win. Without VOA's counter-programming, Russia and China now have free rein to push their propaganda unchecked. Chinese state-run CGTN has been expanding across Africa and Latin America for years, and without VOA, there is no credible U.S. counterweight. Historically, VOA has been a tool to weaken dictatorships by exposing their lies. Its absence strengthens authoritarian regimes and gives U.S. adversaries the upper hand in the information war. Domestically, this sets a dangerous precedent: if Trump can kill an internationally respected news agency with the stroke of a pen, what's stopping him from gutting domestic media outlets that are already being targeted? Could a full attempt at silencing or controlling them be next?

In other news that may have missed your radar but is strongly related, Paul Dans, one of the key architects of Project 2025, is openly celebrating its implementation. In his latest interview, he confirmed what many of us had warned: Project 2025 was always the plan, and Trump is merely executing it.

"This week, in his first in-depth interview since Trump returned to the presidency, Dans effectively confirmed what Democrats were saying all along, and Trump himself denied: There really is almost no difference between Project 2025 and what Trump was planning and is now implementing. He's thrilled beyond his wildest dreams. And if the White House were to call, he'd be glad to get back on the team."

Oh, Paul. I sat in the room in meetings with you and always knew you were one of the pawns in the John McEntee and Stephen Miller network. You never fooled me for a second.

If you're wondering why this matters, here's the bottom line: this is about silencing the truth, consolidating power, and eroding democracy. When governments control the press, they control the narrative—and, eventually, the people. The collapse of independent media is one of the earliest warning signs of authoritarianism—and we are witnessing it unfold in real-time. If they can erase a global news agency with decades of bipartisan support, what will they do to domestic newsrooms? It's about weakening America's ability to challenge mistruths at home and abroad.

To my Republican and center-left friends who dismissed my very public concerns about Project 2025, I ask: Do you see it now? Many of you insisted I was being hyperbolic, that this was just campaign rhetoric in the 2024 election cycle. But it never was to me—because I saw the initial policies from this playbook being enacted firsthand during the first Trump administration.

The VOA dismantling isn't happening in isolation. In parallel, we've seen the Trump administration invoke the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, despite court orders to halt deportations. Did President Trump defy a judge's official court order? I always said this day would come. I recently wrote about ICE's detention of Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, raising concerns about due process and First Amendment rights. Now, with the shutdown of VOA, a disturbing pattern of institutional erosion is becoming impossible to ignore. The collapse of democracy is not theoretical—it is happening now. And it’s all part of the plan.

Yet, VOA’s journalists have not stopped fighting. For over eight decades, they have risked their lives to bring the truth to those living under oppression—reporting from war zones, covering revolutions, and holding power accountable. Their work doesn't end with one Administration's attempt to silence them, nor will it erase the truth.

Because truth is resilient. Because history remembers. Because even in darkness, there are those who will not be silenced.

The Trump Administration thinks it can erase facts, rewrite history, and control the press. But history has shown us that the truth always finds a way to break through. And no executive order, no playbook, and no dictator can change that.

Until next time,

Olivia