About 75% of Radio Free Asia staff were placed on leave Friday, the result of funding cuts ordered by Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

The U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia told hundreds of U.S.-based staff on Wednesday they will be put on unpaid leave from the end of this week after President Donald Trump's administration said it was terminating the outlet's funding.

For the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,” Michael Abramowitz, the organization's director, said in a statement.