Trump’s attempt to shutter Voice of America ruled illegal

The Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the U.S. Agency for Global Media and boot Voice of America off the air was illegal, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said Congress created USAGM and its various networks, including VOA, and laid out some guidelines for how and when it would broadcast.

He said the law gives the administration flexibility to determine how to run the operation, but it doesn’t allow the administration the option of not running it at all.

“While these statutes undoubtedly call for USAGM leadership’s judgment regarding how to effectuate Congress’s broadcasting directives, they have no discretion regarding whether to do so,” he ruled.

Judge Lamberth had previously ruled that Trump ally Kari Lake had been illegally serving as acting head of USAGM and he had revoked her decisions, including a round of mass layoffs.

President Trump ordered USAGM and VOA to wind down in an executive order last March. It directed the agency to limit itself to the bare minimum of functions required by law.

At that point, USAGM had 1,147 employees and another 598 contractors working for it. Most of them were at VOA.

Mr. Trump’s order brought USAGM and its networks, which also include “to a standstill,” Judge Lamberth said.

All contractors and 1,042 of the employees were booted from their jobs. For the last year, VOA employees have been getting paid but were barred from working.

Judge Lamberth said the decision to wind things down wasn’t well supported, and violates the law. He pointed out that the shuttering began last year right about the time Mr. Trump signed a spending bill giving hundreds of millions of dollars to USAGM to keep running through fiscal 2025.

Congress earlier this year approved another bill to fund USAGM for fiscal 2026.

It trimmed the budget somewhat, but kept the money flowing, with $200 million dedicated to Voice of America, down from $260 million before.

VOA employees said the new funding represented Congress’ rejection of Mr. Trump’s shutdown attempt. The administration countered that the cut in funding was a signal that Congress wanted Mr. Trump to have wide latitude in how to carry out the cuts.

In addition to VOA, USAGM oversees Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Marti and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

Ms. Lake, a former TV news anchor and unsuccessful political candidate in Arizona, was appointed by Mr. Trump to serve as senior adviser to the CEO of USAGM, though she claimed to be acting with most of the powers of the CEO.

Mr. Trump last week nominated Sarah Rogers, a senior State Department official, to helm USAGM and appointed Michael Rigas to serve as acting CEO in the meantime.

Ms. Lake complained on social media about the ruling on whether she was serving and called Judge Lamberth “rotund.”

“Despite his absurd orders and rulings, I remain in the exact same position today as I was before: deputy CEO — where I am even more determined to finish the job,” she said.