More than 1,300 staff including journalists and producers have been put on administrative leave.

More than 1,300 Voice of America employees were placed on leave on Saturday and funding for two U.S. news services that broadcast to authoritarian regimes was terminated, one day after President Donald Trump ordered the gutting of the government-funded media outlet's parent and six other federal agencies.

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.