Former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka is reportedly under consideration for a leadership role at Voice of America, an independent global multimedia broadcaster funded by the U.S. government, following the resignation of two top editors at the network.
On Monday, VOA directors Amanda Bennett and Sandy Sugawara announced their resignations in an internal memo to staff following the Senate confirmation of Michael Pack earlier this month. Pack is set to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the federal agency overseeing VOA, after his nomination was in limbo for two years.
In 2018, CNN reported that several people at the VOA’s parent agency were concerned that Pack would “turn what has been considered America’s voice abroad toward a decidedly more pro-Trump bent.” Pack is known for collaborating on documentary film projects with former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon.
According to a CNN report on Tuesday, a VOA employee said that internal discussions are taking place that may include placing Gorka in a leadership position as part of Pack’s potential plan for a “sizable shakeup” to the agency. A source close to the White House told CNN there is also discussion among the President’s advisers regarding the possibility of making Gorka a USAGM board member after its board of governors disbanded after Pack’s Senate confirmation.
CNN’s report on Gorka possibly taking a leadership role at VOA comes a year after the conservative commentator got into a shouting match with a reporter in the White House Rose Garden last year. After the President departed the Rose Garden following his announcement of an executive order to obtain citizenship information about people living in the U.S., a scuffle broke out between between far-right influencers and members of the White House press corps, which involved Gorka shouting that he could beat up a “punk” reporter.
