President Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media shook up the leadership of several government-sponsored global broadcast networks in his first week of work.
Michael Pack, who was approved to head the agency by the Senate two weeks ago and took on the role Wednesday, has already stripped most senior leadership of their authority and fired the chiefs of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
Pack did not provide a reason behind his actions besides saying he had the authority to do so, according to NPR. He also dissolved advisory boards over each of the networks, placing his own aides above them.
Pack is running the agency that is also in charge of Voice of America, a U.S. government-funded news organization where two executives resigned earlier this week.
The nomination had been stalled since the summer of 2018. Pack is a conservative documentary filmmaker and an ally of former White House chief strategist and Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon, who has been critical of VOA. The nomination moved forward last month after Trump pressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to speed up the process.
Democrats expressed dismay at choosing Pack to lead the agency, warning he might push for more favorable news coverage of the Trump administration. They also argued that the process should have been stalled after it was revealed that the Washington, D.C., attorney general’s office was investigating allegations that he improperly transferred millions of dollars from his nonprofit group to his for-profit production company.
Pack was confirmed by a 53-38 vote.
