A U.S. federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of more than 1,000 Voice of America (VOA) employees and directed the federal agency that oversees the broadcaster to restart its operations. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued the directive after finding last week that the appointment of an official to carry out broad layoffs at VOA was unlawful, a ruling that rendered those cuts invalid.
Lamberth — a Reagan appointee to the federal bench since 1987 — instructed that 1,042 VOA staff who have been on paid administrative leave for about a year be returned to their positions by March 23. In his decision the judge said the government had offered no principled basis for the personnel actions it took.
The personnel changes followed the appointment of Kari Lake, a former television news anchor, by the Trump administration to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the federal agency that oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia. While serving as USAGM head, Lake moved to shrink staffing and reduce funding at VOA. Lamberth’s recent ruling found her appointment unlawful and invalidated the resulting staffing actions.
The judge also ordered USAGM to present a plan within the coming week for resuming VOA’s international broadcasts.
About Voice of America
Established after World War II, Voice of America has been a longstanding U.S. public broadcaster and a tool of American soft power. Before the recent changes, VOA produced programming in some 49 languages and reached an estimated audience of roughly 362 million people worldwide, often in countries where independent journalism is limited. VOA’s editorial independence is protected by rules designed to limit direct government control over its reporting.
Response from VOA and next steps
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA’s White House bureau chief and a plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to restore the service, praised the ruling and said staff are eager to begin repairing the damage done during the past year and to rebuild trust with the global audience. She emphasized the agency’s commitment to producing journalism rather than propaganda and noted that restoring full operations and reputation will be a long process.
The Trump administration has indicated it plans to appeal Lamberth’s earlier ruling that the appointment was unlawful. Meanwhile, the judge’s order sets a deadline for reinstatement and requires a swift plan from USAGM to resume international broadcasting.