A federal judge has ruled that Kari Lake unlawfully exercised control over the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the independent agency that oversees Voice of America, and declared her actions over the past year void. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth found that Lake “satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution,” and wiped out moves she made while acting with the agency’s powers — including the mass layoffs of more than 1,000 journalists and staffers across USAGM and Voice of America.
The decision follows reporting and legal challenges about whether Lake had any lawful authority to assume the title and powers of the agency’s acting chief executive. Lamberth’s opinion was sharply critical of the government’s courtroom positions, questioned Lake’s credibility from the bench and at one point threatened contempt. The ruling was described by plaintiffs and their lawyers as a vindication of the rule of law and of independent journalism.
Lake announced she will appeal. In a statement she framed her actions as part of a presidential mandate to cut bureaucracy and restore accountability, and called the judge “an activist judge.”
If the ruling stands, it could unravel sweeping changes Lake made to reshape or shut down parts of the U.S.-funded international broadcasting network. Those steps included dismissing contractors, laying off nearly all permanent staff, firing the Voice of America director, striking a deal to carry programming from the right-leaning One America News Network, withholding funds from sister networks, and canceling a planned headquarters lease that earlier agency leaders said would save tens of millions of dollars. Critics say some remaining VOA broadcasts were repurposed to amplify pro-Trump messaging, notably in coverage of the conflict in Iran.
Voice of America, founded during World War II, has historically sought to model U.S.-style journalism that includes reporting on dissent and unfavorable facts. Three VOA employees — reporters Patsy Widakuswara and Jessica Jerreat and USAGM chief strategy officer Kate Neeper — were named plaintiffs in the case and said they felt vindicated by the ruling. Democracy Forward, which helped represent the plaintiffs, called the decision a strong affirmation of legal limits on agency actions.
Lamberth’s opinion concentrated less on sweeping constitutional questions about separation of powers and more on the narrower statutory and appointment issues: whether Lake had any lawful authority to sign personnel actions, fire officials or reshape the agency. An earlier appellate panel had raised questions about the scope of remedies the court could order, including whether judges could require employees to be returned to work. Lamberth previously ordered USAGM to maintain programming levels that Congress set; the broadcaster, once airing in 49 languages, had been reduced to six languages as of January, the agency says.
Central to the dispute is the sequence of personnel moves and delegations that placed Lake in charge. Before President Trump’s second term began, he expressed a desire to name Lake as VOA director. He later nominated conservative activist Brent Bozell III to lead USAGM; that nomination did not proceed and Bozell was appointed ambassador to South Africa instead. Trump removed six of the seven members of the agency’s oversight board — the body Congress empowered to appoint a VOA director when there is no CEO — leaving the board’s role in limbo and raising questions about who could lawfully make appointments.
Trump assigned Lake to USAGM as a senior adviser in late February 2025. Acting CEO Victor Morales issued a delegation order in early March authorizing Lake to perform most CEO functions. In July she was given the title acting deputy CEO and again assigned most of the CEO’s authorities. Lamberth found that, under those delegations, Lake exercised de facto control of the agency and on July 31 began identifying herself publicly as acting CEO.
News organizations repeatedly requested documentation of any lawful appointment that would authorize those actions; the judge said no such documentation was produced. He found no public evidence that Trump had formally appointed Lake to the position and concluded she likely was ineligible to hold it under the governing statute. Court filings show Lake stopped using the acting CEO title in mid-November after plaintiffs challenged her authority, but she again signed some documents as acting CEO in late January and early February — which Justice Department trial lawyers told the court were “formatting accidents.”
The mass layoffs that occurred while Lake exercised that power have had practical consequences for agency operations. An outside auditor hired by the State Department’s inspector general reported the agency could not provide basic financial information because staff who maintained records had been dismissed; the audit could not be completed in full and had to be rescheduled.
Lamberth’s decision arrives roughly a year after Lake attempted broad personnel and funding changes that a former acting USAGM CEO called “Bloody Saturday” — moves that sought to lay off all full-time staff at Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and to cut federal funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. The judge’s ruling could lead to the reversal of those steps and to reinstatement or other remedies for affected employees and entities, depending on the outcome of appeals and further court proceedings.