Amidst continued uncertainty for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, its president and CEO Stephen Capus, has announced his resignation, effective Sept. 15.
Capus has led RFE/RL since January 2024.
In many respects, it seems remarkable that the private corporation is funded by Congress through a grant from United States Agency for Global Media is still around.
Last year, as we reported, a judge ordered the USAGM to disburse RFE/RL’s congressionally appropriated funds for FY 2025, after the organization filed a lawsuit challenging an administration directive to freeze its funding.
Approximately $650 million of funding for the USAGM was signed by President Trump in February for FY 2026, which ends on Sept. 30. But according to Reporters Without Borders, RFE/RL’s FY 2026 budget was cut roughly 25% from previous years.
In a release, Capus said that it was an honor of a lifetime to serve in the role, and he expressed his gratitude to the organization’s journalists for commitment, professionalism and steadfastness under immense pressure.
“At a time when America’s adversaries spend billions trying to control the information space, I welcome the intent of both Congress and the Executive Branch to support an organization that has fought successfully on the information battlefield for 75 years,” Capus said.
As part of a transition, RFE/RL’s board of directors has named Lisa Curtis as Capus’ successor.
Curtis most recently served as a senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security.
With 35 years of experience on U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific Region, Curtis served for more than 20 years in the U.S. government, including at the CIA, the Department of State, Congress, and the National Security Council, where she was deputy assistant to the president and NSC senior director for South and Central Asia during the first administration under President Trump.
Curtis served as a member of the RFE/RL board of directors from September 2022 and as its chair from July 2024.
She resigned from the RFE/RL board on June 6, the release said.
Stephen Rademaker, a board member since July 2025, succeeds Curtis as its chairperson.
RFE/RL said its programs — digital, television and radio — reach a weekly audience of approximately 44 million people in 18 countries and 24 languages.
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