Sarah B. Rogers

Sarah B. Rogers
CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media
Nominee
Assumed office
TBD
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMichael Rigas (acting)
11th Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 10, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byElizabeth M. Allen
Personal details
Education

Sarah Brooke Rogers is an American lawyer serving as the eleventh United States under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs since October 10, 2025.[1][2]

In March 2026, Rogers was nominated to become CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the parent agency of Voice of America.[3][4]

Early life and education

Rogers received her BA in international relations from Dartmouth College in 2005.[5] She earned her JD from Columbia Law School in 2008, where she served as a staff editor of the Journal of Transnational Law and was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.[5] In 2003, while an undergraduate, she gained her first exposure to public diplomacy as an intern and Nelson Rockefeller fellow in the Bureau of International Information Programs at the U.S. Department of State.[6]

After graduating with her JD, Rogers worked as an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP, where she represented clients in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts in a variety of commercial, securities, and insolvency-related litigation and regulatory matters.[7] She also worked in-house for tobacco company Philip Morris International.[7][2]

In May 2016, Rogers joined Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors in their New York City office as a senior associate and was promoted to partner in September 2025.[7][8] She represented clients such as the National Rifle Association, major tobacco manufacturers, and investors and executives in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.[9]

She litigated a winning Supreme Court appeal in 2024 under the First Amendment, challenging the debanking of disfavored speakers by regulators in the case NRA v. Vullo.[9][8] Rogers also spearheaded challenges to perceived social media censorship and weaponization of law enforcement, including the successful appeal of the wrongful conviction of Douglass Mackey and cases involving Charlie Kirk.[9]

Under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs

Rogers was nominated by President Donald Trump on February 12, 2025, to be under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.[8] She was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 2025, and sworn in on October 10, 2025.[10] In this role, she leads the Department of State's efforts to engage, inform, and understand foreign audiences, overseeing the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bureau of Global Public Affairs.[11]

Rogers has emphasized the use of public diplomacy to advance U.S. interests, including countering censorship, promoting free speech, and leveraging technology like AI for efficient messaging.[12] She has highlighted initiatives such as exchange programs like Fulbright and engagement in events like Expo Osaka to build partnerships and showcase American excellence.[12] Politico and The Guardian described her efforts and style as "Europe-baiting," inflammatory, and seeking to promote and ally with far-right European parties and interests.[13][14]

In December 2025, Rogers recorded a viral video from a European hotel room, criticizing European and UK speech laws by reciting statements that had led to investigations or jail time in those regions.[15] She accused the Global Disinformation Index of using U.S. taxpayer funds to promote censorship, leading to visa denials for five European individuals involved in tech regulation and disinformation efforts.[16][17]

In January 2026, Rogers warned the UK government that "nothing is off the table" in response to threats to ban the social media platform X over AI-generated sexualized deepfakes.[18][19][20][21]

Rogers has expressed concerns over global censorship trends, including Australia's proposed hate speech bill and mass arrests of pro-Palestinian supporters in the UK.[22] Journalist Glenn Greenwald has called Rogers "a long-time, proven free speech defender as a principle, not a partisan tool."[23] In a January 2026 interview, she discussed her views on free speech, tracing them back to her experiences with the early internet and as a prolific commenter on Gawker.[24]

On January 28, 2026, Rogers spoke at the Meridian International Center's Insights@Meridian program, discussing public diplomacy's role in advancing democratic values and countering censorship.[25][26]

Following a federal court ruling on March 7, 2026, that President Trump's appointment of Kari Lake to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media—which oversees the Voice of America, a government-funded international news broadcaster—was invalid,[27] Trump nominated Rogers to replace her.[3]

Controversies

Rogers has been described as having an inflammatory and blunt speaking style, which Politico said had caused "sharp criticism from European officials" and "caused unease among U.S. officials and even some supporters".[13] Rogers has been sharply critical of British and EU policies on freedom of speech.[15] In December 2025, her viral video led to accusations of interfering in European affairs.[15] On January 15, 2026, quoting[28] language for which a German lawmaker faced sanctions in the wake of the Cologne mass sexual assaults, she referred to the Cologne attackers as "barbarian rapist hordes."[29] When an X user called "National Socialists of TikTok" replied and blamed Jews for German immigration policy, Rogers quote-tweeted that Germany "infamously retains very few Jews," yet imported the so-called "hordes" under Angela Merkel.[29] Saying such speech was protected under the First Amendment, she singled out "Nazi conspiracy grievance ideology" [30] saying that "it encourages self-victimization and magical thinking; it is, indeed, 'dumb trash.'"[31] During a speech with the London-based think tank the Prosperity Institute, Rogers drew controversy for her claims about COVID vaccines and the virus's origins and by saying that there are "average differences in IQ between racial groups." Politico described her claims as "contested" or lacking evidence.[13]

Personal life

Rogers married in 2009.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Sarah B. Rogers". United States Department of State. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Some of the Lawyers Who May Fill a Second Trump Administration (Published 2023)". November 1, 2023. Archived from the original on October 27, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Kim, Minho (March 18, 2026). "Judge Orders Voice of America to Restart All News Operations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Ted (March 12, 2026). "Trump Nominates Sarah B. Rogers As CEO Of Voice Of America Overseer". Deadline. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Sarah B. Rogers Senior Associate" (PDF). Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Sarah B. Rogers". United States Department of State. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "Brewer Names Sarah B. Rogers Partner". Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. September 20, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 "Firm Partner Sarah Rogers Nominated for State Department Position". Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 "Sarah B. Rogers". United States Department of State. October 10, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  10. ↑ "PN25-49 - Nomination of Sarah Rogers for Department of State, 119th Congress (2025-2026)". Congress.gov. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy". United States Department of State. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Statement of Sarah Rogers Nominee for Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy April 9, 2025". Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. April 9, 2025. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 Ross, Tim; Toosi, Nahal; Bolzen, Stefanie (April 28, 2026). "Trump's Voice of America: The free-speech crusader pushing MAGA on Europe". Politico. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  14. ↑ Wilson, Jason (February 11, 2026). "Trump official allies with Europe's far right in attacks on migration and hate speech policies". The Guardian. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 Washington, Katy Balls (December 8, 2025). "What's behind the Trump administration's ideological assault on the EU?". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  16. ↑ "UK social media campaigners among five denied US visas". www.bbc.com. December 24, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ "U.S. Bars 5 European Tech Regulators and Researchers". December 24, 2025. Archived from the original on December 26, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  18. ↑ "US State Department threatens UK over probe into Elon Musk's X". POLITICO. January 13, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  19. ↑ "X ban: US promises to unleash 'full range of tools' against Keir Starmer to protect free speech in Britain". gbnews.com. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  20. ↑ "US Sends UK Bleak Warning As Starmer Mulls Over How To Punish X Over Grok". HuffPost UK. January 13, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  21. ↑ "State Department Prepares to Punish Another Country for Elon Musk". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  22. ↑ "US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers expressed concern over the ..." Instagram. January 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Glenn Greenwald tweet". X. December 2025.
  24. 1 2 "Undersecretary Sarah Rogers on free speech, Europe's tech crackdown, and the internet she misses". Semafor. January 16, 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Insights@Meridian: Under Secretary Sarah B. Rogers on Public Diplomacy and Freedom of Expression". Meridian International Center. January 28, 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Insights@Meridian with Sarah B. Rogers". Meridian International Center. January 28, 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  27. ↑ Kim, Minho (March 8, 2026). "Judge Voids Mass Layoffs at Voice of America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  28. ↑ @UnderSecPD (January 17, 2026). "A German lawmaker was later threatened with criminal prosecution for using the language I quote here..." (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  29. 1 2 @UnderSecPD (January 15, 2026). "Germany infamously retains very few Jews, yet imported barbarian rapist hordes (as an American, I'm allowed to call them that) under Merkel..." (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  30. ↑ @UnderSecPD (January 17, 2026). (Tweet) https://x.com/UnderSecPD/status/2012530995891700022 – via X (formerly Twitter). {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. ↑ @UnderSecPD (January 17, 2026). (Tweet) https://x.com/UnderSecPD/status/2012531796081094686 – via X (formerly Twitter). {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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