Michael Pack was fired by the Biden administration on Wednesday as head of the government agency overseeing federally funded international news outlets, including Voice of America.
Pack, a pro-Trump documentary filmmaker, was confirmed as head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media in June, sparking an uproar from the organizations he was appointed to oversee.
In a resignation letter, Pack called the move “a partisan act that harmed and office designed to serve the American people and the national interest.”
“However, I serve at the pleasure of not one particular president, but the office of the president itself,” he wrote. “It was a tremendous honor to serve in this inaugural role at USAGM. I firmly believe that a great amount was accomplished during my tenure.”
Pack’s short tenure as head of the USAGM was one frequently marred by scandal. In an NPR report from last September, multiple current and former Voice of America staffers accused Pack of attempting to turn the news organizations he oversaw into pro-Trump propaganda outlets. As recently as two weeks ago, Pack was accused of using a non-profit to illegally divert $4 million of charitable donations into his production company.
The move to oust Pack came just hours after Biden was sworn in as president of the United States on Wednesday, among a slew of other executive actions designed to undo the effects of the previous administration.
Democrats delayed Michael Pack's confirmation as head of US Agency for Global Media. As a result, Pack has been in office eight months of a three-year term. The Biden administration fired him in the first hour today. Pack's resignation letter: pic.twitter.com/tB8yOHMpah
— Byron York (@ByronYork) January 20, 2021