Congressional Concerns Over Partisanship and a Lack of Professional Independence: Critical Junctures and the Evolution of U.S. Government Information Agencies

Abstract

The nomination by Pres. Donald J. Trump of Michael Pack as the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the agency that oversees the Voice of America (VOA) and other civilian international broadcasters, was politically controversial. Democratic senators feared that if confirmed, Pack would pursue a partisan political agenda through the broadcasters because he was a known associate of President Trump’s former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. This study shows that fears that a president could use government agencies to advance a partisan political agenda emerged long ago when the government first started establishing information agencies, such as the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and the Office of War Information (OWI). Such fears are likely to continue.