The Trump appointee at the head of the federal governments media agency continued his quest to appoint allies of the president to high-ranking positions at Voice Of America this week. Michael Pack, the CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, is a loyal Trump supporter who has launched investigations into journalists he perceives as anti-Trump within VOA, which Pack oversees. On Tuesday, Pack notified acting director Elez Biberaj that he would be replaced, according to NPR. Biberaj had only been in the job since this summer. Biberaj, in his short time in the role, had a track record of speaking up about the importance of an independent press and tacitly pushed back against Pack’s actions, although never directly.
Instead of resigning, Biberaj will return to his previous job at the agency leading the Eurasia desk. He has been with the broadcaster for 40 years. In Biberaj’s place, Pack is said to be appointing Robert Reilly, who briefly worked at VOA during President George W. Bush’s time at the White House. Reilly is a Trump supporter and the author of a homophobic book called Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything.
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