A federal judge has declared that the effective closure of the Voice of America last year was unlawful and has ordered the return of many of its staff.
Judicial Mandate Issues One-Week Timeline
Federal Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government seven days to restore the broadcaster's operations.
Wartime Roots and Recent Closure
The VOA was first created during World War Two with the aim of countering Nazi disinformation.
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 targeted outlets such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, stating they should be phased out as much as legally possible.
Leadership Shake-Up and Mass Dismissals
President Trump named Kari Lake to lead the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent company that oversees and funds the VOA and related networks.
Lake proceeded to fire over 85 percent of the agency's employees—over 1,000 staff at VOA by itself—leaving just a handful of employees in their jobs.
Most of the dismissed 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.
Court’s Rationale and Decision
Last week, Judge Lamberth ruled that Lake did not have the authority to suspend the operations of the USAGM workforce, as she had not been confirmed by the US Senate.
In this week's ruling, the judge described the decision to sack the journalists as “arbitrary and capricious,”, adding that the government had not taken into account legislation that dictate what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“Defendants have provided nothing approaching a reasonable basis for their decision,” Lamberth wrote.
Reporters’ Legal Challenge and Response
Three VOA journalists had sued the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, expressed being deeply grateful for the judge's decision.
“We hope the American people will keep support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda,” she said to the Associated Press.
Unclear Next Steps and Broader Implications
It is not clear if Lake's proposed successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment requires Senate confirmation—will challenge the ruling.
Prior to its shutdown, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in almost 50 languages.
Trump's attacks of the VOA are part of his broader attacks against the US media, which studies suggest American news consumers view as highly polarised.
