A federal judge overseeing multiple challenges to the Trump administration’s overhaul of the U.S. Agency for Global Media ruled Saturday that Kari Lake acted unlawfully in running the agency that oversees Voice of America. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote that “Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution,” declaring all of her actions over the past year null and void — including the layoffs of more than 1,000 journalists and staffers at the agency and Voice of America.
NPR had reported last August on questions about the legality of Lake assuming the title and powers of the agency’s self-declared acting chief executive. Lamberth’s ruling is a clear rebuke to the White House and Lake, following courtroom exchanges in which he found the government’s arguments unconvincing, questioned Lake’s credibility from the bench, and at one point threatened her with contempt.
Lake said she would appeal. In a statement, she argued that President Trump had a mandate to cut bureaucracy and restore accountability and called Lamberth “an activist judge.”
If the decision stands, it could undo sweeping moves Lake made to reshape or dismantle Voice of America and sister networks that receive federal funding, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcast Networks. Actions taken under Lake’s control included dismissing contractors, laying off nearly all permanent staff, firing the Voice of America director, striking a deal to carry content from the right-wing One America News Network, withholding funds from sister networks, and canceling a lease for a new headquarters that previous leaders said would save tens of millions of dollars. Critics have accused Lake of turning remaining VOA broadcasts into a platform for pro-Trump messaging, notably on coverage of the conflict in Iran.
Voice of America, founded in World War II, has long aimed to model U.S.-style journalism that includes dissent and unfavorable facts. Three named plaintiffs — VOA journalists Patsy Widakuswara and Jessica Jerreat and USAGM chief strategy officer Kate Neeper — said they felt “vindicated and deeply grateful” and called the ruling a step toward undoing the damage to the institution. Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which co-counseled the plaintiffs, called the decision “a powerful affirmation of the rule of law.”
Lamberth’s ruling focused less on broader constitutional questions about congressional versus presidential authority and more on whether Lake had any lawful authority to make the decisions she made. An earlier appellate decision had questioned whether the judge could order people back to work, but Lamberth previously held that Lake and the agency had to ensure VOA continued programming levels set by Congress. The broadcaster, which once aired in 49 languages, was down to six languages in January, the agency said.
The personnel and appointment history is central to the case. Before Trump took office a second time, he said he hoped to name Lake as VOA director. He later nominated conservative activist Brent Bozell III to lead USAGM, but that nomination did not proceed; Bozell became ambassador to South Africa instead. After Trump dismissed six of seven members of the agency’s oversight board — the body Congress empowered to appoint a VOA director when there is no agency CEO — Lake’s status became uncertain. Trump assigned her as a senior adviser to the agency in late February 2025. At that time, acting CEO Victor Morales issued a delegation order in early March designating Lake to perform most CEO functions. In July, she was named acting deputy CEO and again assigned the vast majority of the CEO’s powers.
Lamberth concluded Lake had de facto control of the agency under those delegations. On July 31, Lake began calling herself the agency’s acting CEO. NPR repeatedly sought documentation of any lawful appointment; none was produced. The judge found no public evidence Trump had named her to the job and said Lake appears ineligible to hold it under relevant law. Lake stopped using the title in mid-November, shortly after plaintiffs challenged her right to do so, but court filings showed she again signed documents as acting CEO in late January and early February. Justice Department trial attorneys told the court those signatures were formatting accidents.
Because of the layoffs carried out while Lake exercised that authority, the agency could not provide basic financial information, according to an outside auditor hired by the State Department’s inspector general, which said the audit could not be completed in full and would be rescheduled. Lamberth’s decision comes about a year after Lake attempted to lay off all full-time staffers at Voice of America and the Office for Cuba Broadcasting and to cut federal funds for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks — moves a former acting USAGM CEO under Trump called “Bloody Saturday.”