According to a report, Voice of America has placed one of its most prominent journalists on an “excused absence” while a human resources investigation is carried out regarding alleged critical remarks about President Trump.

The journalist in question is Steve Herman, VOA’s chief national correspondent. He was notified of the probe in a letter last week from the US Agency for Global Media, the overseeing body of the news agency, as reported by the New York Times.

VOA, a news outlet funded by the government and reaching millions of viewers globally, informed Herman that the investigation was initiated due to concerns that his “social media activity [had] compromised the perception of VOA’s objectivity and credibility among its audiences and in its news coverage,” based on the Times’ review of the letter.

Herman drew the ire of the Trump administration when he posted a link to a news story on his X account that included a quote from an analyst who was critical of the decision to defund the United States Agency for International Development.

Richard Grenell, the former US ambassador to Germany who currently serves as a special envoy, angrily wrote in response: “Aren’t you a taxpayer funded ‘reporter’ for @voa? Why are you working against President Trump’s reform plans for the US budget?”

Grenell then added that “it isn’t too much to suggest this is treasonous.”

“You don’t get to work against the official US government policies while being paid by US taxpayers. You should be immediately fired,” Grenell wrote.

Another veteran White House bureau chief, Patsy Widakuswara, was reassigned to a different beat against her wishes, employees told the Times.

Some VOA journalists speculated that the decision was made to ease tensions with the Trump administration, though a broadcaster official who was not authorized to speak publicly denied that claim, according to the Times.

The Post has sought comment from VOA, Herman, Widakuswara and the USAGM.

VOA’s budget is allocated by Congress and administered by the USAGM, an independent government agency that oversees VOA and other state-funded international broadcasters like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Although VOA is government-funded, it operates under the VOA Charter, which mandates that its reporting must be accurate, objective and free from political influence.

This ensures that it functions as an independent news organization rather than a direct mouthpiece for the US government.

According to the Times, VOA journalists have been increasingly anxious about their future following Trump’s announcement that he would appoint Kari Lake, a former television news anchor and unsuccessful Republican Senate candidate, to lead the broadcaster.

Elon Musk and Grenell have called for VOA to be dismantled, but Lake has dismissed the idea.

However, she has stated that the broadcaster’s coverage will no longer reflect what she calls “Trump derangement syndrome” (TDS).

“It won’t become Trump TV,” Lake said during a speech at this month’s Conservative Political Action Conference, a major gathering of conservatives.

“But it sure as hell will not be TDS.”

The Trump administration has taken steps to curb access to media outlets deemed unfriendly to the president’s agenda, including the Associated Press.

AP filed suit after the wire service was barred from covering certain events in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One. The agency has run afoul of Trump over its refusal to call the body of water near Florida the Gulf of America, per the president’s executive order.

The Pentagon has also evicted outlets such as the New York Times and NBC News from its permanent office space while instituting a rotation system that will allow news organizations such as Newsmax more access.