The reduction was made to agencies Trump saw as "unnecessary," the order states. "President Trump is delivering on his promise to make our government more efficient," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told USA TODAY on Saturday.

The order also targets agencies providing funding for museums, libraries and tackling homelessness, and calls for the agencies to reduce their operations to the bare minimum "consistent with applicable law.

About 1,300 journalists at Voice of America, a government-funded broadcaster, were put on leave following Trump's executive order, its director said.