An 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 journalists.
Court Mandate Sets One-Week Timeline
Federal Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government one week to get the VOA broadcasting again.
Wartime Roots and Recent Shutdown
The VOA was first set up in World War Two to combat Nazi disinformation.
Just weeks after returning to office as president, Donald Trump signed an executive order to defund the broadcaster, which his administration accused of political bias. The order also included networks such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, calling for them to be phased out as much as legally possible.
Management Shake-Up and Widespread Firings
President Trump appointed Kari Lake to run the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent company that manages and finances the VOA and other networks.
Lake then sack the vast majority 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 leave with pay since last year. This included Persian Service reporters who were temporarily|called back to work after Israel attacked Iran last June.
Court’s Reasoning and Ruling
Last week, Judge Lamberth ruled that Lake did not have the legal power 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 ignored laws that dictate what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“The government have provided no a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth stated in his opinion.
Reporters’ Legal Challenge and Response
Three VOA journalists had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, expressed being deeply grateful for the judge's decision.
“We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce factual reporting, not biased messaging,” she told reporters.
Unclear Next Steps and Wider Implications
It is uncertain if Lake's nominated 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 nearly 50 languages.
Trump's attacks of the VOA form part of his wider criticism of the US media, which studies suggest American news consumers view as deeply divided.
