page_title: Michael Pack
section_title: USAGM CEO
hierarchical_section_title: Michael Pack / Career / USAGM CEO
caption_attribution_description: English: MPack hearing closeup
context_page_description: Michael Pack is an American conservative filmmaker who is CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media under President Donald Trump. Pack assumed office in June 2020 after Senate confirmation.
context_section_description: In June 2018, the White House announced that President Donald Trump intended to nominate Pack as the chief executive officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which among other things oversees the Voice of America (VOA). Pack's first confirmation hearing took place on September 19, 2019. On May 8, 2020, Senator Jim Risch moved to schedule a committee confirmation hearing for Pack for the following week. Pack's nomination was contentious, with critics arguing that the mission of VOA would be compromised by installing a conservative partisan as head of the organization. The Senate invoked cloture on Pack's nomination on June 4, 2020, by a vote of 53–39, and it confirmed him the same day by a vote of 53–38.
  Pack assumed office over a week after his confirmation partially so his office could be swept for covert listening devices. One of his first actions as USAGM CEO was to fire the heads of the outlets under his purview — among them Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and the Open Technology Fund — including certain officials favored by conservatives. Pack also installed Trump loyalists in leadership positions within the organization and disbanded a bipartisan board that oversees the USAGM. Pack continued making personnel changes, among other actions. It was reported in July 2020 that the USAGM under Pack would not extend visas for foreign VOA journalists. In late July 2020, Pack announced an investigation of a VOA video that purportedly promoted Joe Biden's presidential campaign. In August 2020, USAGM required several of its outlets to return money allocated for internet freedom projects for the agency to reallocate for other internet freedom uses.
caption: Pack at his confirmation hearing in September 2019
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