A US court has declared that the practical shuttering of the Voice of America last year was “illegal” and has commanded the reinstatement of many of its reporters.
Court Order Sets One-Week Timeline
District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government seven days to restore the broadcaster's operations.
Historical Roots and Recent Closure
The VOA was originally created during World War Two with the aim of countering Nazi propaganda.
Just weeks after returning to office as president, Donald Trump signed an presidential directive to defund the broadcaster, which his officials claimed had political bias. The order also included outlets such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, calling for them to be phased out as much as legally possible.
Leadership Shake-Up and Widespread Firings
President Trump appointed Kari Lake to head the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent company that manages and finances the VOA and related networks.
Lake then terminate more than 85% of the agency's employees—over 1,000 staff at VOA alone—leaving just a small number of employees in their jobs.
Most of the affected staff have been on paid administrative leave since last year. This even applied to Persian Service reporters who were temporarily|called back to work after Israel attacked Iran last June.
Judge’s Reasoning and Decision
Last week, Judge Lamberth ruled that Lake lacked the legal power to suspend the operations of the USAGM workforce, as she had not been approved by the US Senate.
In this week's decision, the federal judge described the decision to fire the journalists as “arbitrary and capricious,”, adding that the government had ignored laws that dictate what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“The government have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth stated in his opinion.
Reporters’ Lawsuit and Response
Three VOA journalists had sued the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, expressed being profoundly thankful for the judge's decision.
“We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda,” she said to reporters.
Uncertain Next Steps and Wider Implications
It is not clear if Lake's proposed successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment requires Senate confirmation—will challenge the ruling.
Before being wound down, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in almost 50 languages.
Trump's attacks of the VOA form part of his wider criticism of the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as deeply divided.
