President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Friday night to dismantle multiple federal agencies in an effort to "save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending, and streamline government priorities."
The agencies set to be gutted include the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the United States Agency for Global Media, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Arctic Research Commission.
The U.S. Agency for Global Media is the parent agency of Voice of America, which is "the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in nearly 50 languages to an estimated weekly audience of more than 354 million people," according to the organization's website.
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According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Council on Homelessness is "the only agency at the federal level with the sole responsibility of ending homelessness. It works across 19 federal agencies and departments, and with partners in both the public and private sectors, to improve federal spending outcomes for homelessness."
The Trump administration says cutting organizations like these will eliminate unnecessary governmental agencies. It is part of a broader effort by the White House to downsize the scope of the federal government.
However, these organizations are relatively small within the scope of the federal government. Out of the $6.8 trillion spent by the government in 2024, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness had an annual budget of $3.6 million. The U.S. Agency for Global Media had a much larger budget, however, at $950 million.
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars receives about 30% of its funding from the government. From 2019 through 2024, the organization states it received about $41 million in federal funds.
"The Wilson Center occupies a unique place in U.S. foreign policy—we are congressionally chartered, scholarship-driven, and fiercely nonpartisan. It is our mission to help policymakers and stakeholders make sense of global developments. We are driven to offer the insights and analysis that can inform decision-making and forge a stronger America and a more secure world," the organization said.
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