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Trump wipes out 7 agencies at once [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-15

Seven agencies at once in an executive order to reduce the the minimum required by law, which can be one person.

It's called: "Continuing The Reduction Of The Federal Bureaucracy." The agencies affected are:

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. 2025 budget $45 million. United States Agency for Global Media. 2025 budget $950 million. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution. 2024 budget $16.1 million. Institute for Museum and Library Services. 2025 budget $280 million. United States Interagency Council for Homelessness. 2025 budget $4.3 million. Community Development Financial Institutions Fund 2025 budget $325 million. Minority Business Development Agency. 2025 Budget $80 million.

Maybe I was being too confident in the one person left.

"...the non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce their performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law."

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service website basically says, "Oops!, there's an executive order, we probably aren't going to be able to help you."

They are a small agency that's been around since 1947, designed to prevent work stoppages and labor disputes. This shutdown sounds pretty stupid right off the bat. It helps both businesses and labor. I guess it's helping the labor part that Trump doesn't like. Going through their rules and regulations would probably be fruitless. 1947, that's Harry Truman. Maybe Trump is just not that wild about Harry (song reference).

The United States Agency for Global Media is a very important one. Seeing how this is the parent Agency for Voice of America and other interagencies, and Trump has put Kari Lake as the head of Voice of America, I think it's just the word Global that tics him off. He may not even know what he's doing on this one.

In September of last year they signed a lease for a new building that would house much more of them.

Here's a chart that shows their function and how many pieces there are.

Here's a link to the full resolution chart.

I truly don't believe anyone knows what they're doing in this case. It has to be a mistake. They've got 427 million listeners, viewers and internet users as their audience. That's just the ones they know about. What we don't know is how many people there are in countries that are repressive and depend on getting real news, like Russia, Iran, North Korea, China and other regimes. Our enemies call these agencies propaganda, because they've been doing a good job providing accurate news.

Voice of America has been around since 1942 when it began broadcasting to combat Nazi propaganda. They've even got the first broadcast that originated in New York, was picked up in London, and relayed into Germany. "Ever since then, VOA has served the world with a consistent message of truth, hope, and inspiration." Now, it broadcasts in 50 languages with an audience of 354 million people all by itself.

Please tell me DOGE has just made a temporary mistake they'll claw back.

The Woodrow Wilson International Institute for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution is housed in the Ronald Reagan building and International Trade Center on a 30-year rent-free lease. It's a public-private partnership with only one-third of its funds coming from the federal government. It's a think tank covering a wide range of topics and programs. To Trump, with international in its name, it must be globalist, so it must be shut down. It's also a 501(c) 3 organization. Trump just hates people who can think because he doesn't.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services supports education, economic, and cultural activities locally, which impacts national advancement globally. There's that new MAGA curse word: Global. Everything should be America First. Isolationism is what makes every war worse to win. Whether it be by military or education or advancements of any kind. IMLS supports museums and libraries and archives in all 50 states and territories.

The United States Interagency Council on the Homeless has 18 government partner agencies along with the White House Faith Office. Trump hates homeless people. To him, they're just garbage in parks and vacant lots and the streets. He just strong-armed Mayor Bowser of Washington, D.C., to get rid of a number of homeless sites. I don't need to explain. Its name says all that needs to be.

Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is exactly what it sounds like. It's part of the Treasury Department, and it helps small communities that don't have access to funding options. For every dollar the CDFI invests, there is a $10 reciprocal investment by private sources. Because treasury funds are being invested, Secretary of the Treasury Bessent thinks it should be shut down. Once again, stupidity reigns. The money isn't just passed out. There are small dollar loans that normally have a high interest rate. They guarantee bonds. They spur housing development. Training programs and more. The return on the investment is all the good it does.

The Minority Business Development Agency has to be shut down because it doesn't work for white people. In 2023, they found $1.5 billion of other people's money to be invested. They helped minorities get $3.8 billion in contracts. They generated 19,000 new jobs through their efforts. Can't have those uppity minorities make it up the rungs of the ladder to success. All this agency cost was in personnel as part of the Department of Commerce.

The impact of all these small agencies and the U.S. Agency for Global Media disappearing is more than can be imagined because of what the personnel do. If the agencies rekindle, these people may have moved on permanently. You can't just instantaneously have a person gain a skill set.

Stop the world, I want to get off. Every day, the ridiculous agency personnel firings jeopardize the functioning of the agency left behind. One of the worst examples is getting rid of IRS agents. The very people that collect the money that runs the government.

These seven agencies all have a right to exist. The money they get generates education, resources, and community stability. Trim $2 billion from the Pentagon budget, and you're done with financing and then some.

I'm concerned for all of them, but the U.S. Agency for Global Media is the worst cost cutting idea yet. I suppose it's looked at like USAID. Cutting both are mistakes. Two agencies that create good will around the world.

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