House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel has subpoenaed Michael Pack, President Donald Trump’s appointee to lead the U.S. government’s foreign broadcast media arm.
Pack, CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media and a close ally of former Trump aide Steve Bannon, has been sharply criticized by Democrats in recent months as he’s moved to reshape the leadership of the news organizations under his purview, including Voice of America. Democrats worry that he intends to curtail the outlets’ independence and bend them toward serving Trump’s political ends.
Engel (D-N.Y.) accused Pack of seeking to back out of a Sept. 24 commitment to testify before his committee. “His office failed to provide any reasonable alternative dates and his excuse for breaking his commitment is not acceptable,” Engel said in a statement.
U.S. Agency for Global Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pack has previously insisted his personnel changes were a routine part of new leadership at a large organization.
Engel recently subpoenaed the State Department for documents connected to GOP Sen. Ron Johnson’s investigation of Joe Biden’s relationships in Ukraine, a probe that Democrats say is politically motivated and potentially tainted by Russian disinformation.
Engel is also probing Trump’s decision earlier this year to fire State Department inspector general Steve Linick.