President Donald Trump has silenced Voice of America, the federally-funded news organization that has beamed its broadcasts abroad for over eight decades.

On Friday afternoon, the Trump administration issued an executive order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the outlet. The following morning, over one thousand VOA employees learned that they were being placed on administrative leave—a day that has already been labeled “Bloody Saturday.”

Deprived of new content, a number of overseas VOA-affiliated radio stations switched to an all-music format or went quiet altogether. Television and digital outlets, meanwhile, will likely seek to fill airtime with stories provided by other nations, including China and Russia.

VOA director Michael Abramowitz said he was “deeply saddened” about the organization’s silencing in a statement posted on various social media platforms, including LinkedIn, over the weekend.

“VOA needs thoughtful reform, and we have made progress in that regard,” wrote Abramowitz, a former Washington Post journalist who was appointed to his position last July. “But today’s action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission. That mission is especially critical today, when America’s adversaries, like Iran, China, and Russia, are sinking billions of dollars into creating false narratives to discredit the United States.”

In a statement following the executive order—which targeted a total of seven federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Minority Business Development Agency—the Trump administration accused the VOA of broadcasting “radical propaganda.”

“Voice of America has been out of step with America for years,” a White House official later claimed to Fox News Digital. “It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now.”

Trump has been highly critical of publicly-funded media in both of his administrations. Since returning to the Oval Office, he has placed renewed pressure on PBS and NPR in particular.

On Jan. 30, FCC chairman Brendan Carr opened an investigation into both outlets, stating: “I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace.”

“Public television and radio stations play a significant role in our media ecosystem,” FCC commissioner Geoffrey Starks said in response. “Any attempt to intimidate these local media outlets is a threat to the free flow of information and the marketplace of ideas.”