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By Gabe Whisnant
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A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore the government‑run Voice of America (VOA) after its operations were effectively shut down a year ago, directing that hundreds of employees who had been placed on administrative leave be returned to work.
U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1987, gave the U.S. Agency for Global Media one week to submit a plan for putting VOA back on the air, ending a period in which the broadcaster has operated with only a skeleton staff.
The ruling follows President Donald Trump’s executive order to shut down the agency and comes amid ongoing litigation challenging the legality of those actions. Lamberth sharply criticized the administration’s handling of VOA, saying officials failed to justify the sweeping reduction of its workforce.
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Newsweek has reached out to VOA via email on Tuesday afternoon for comment.
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Judge says shutdown lacked legal basis
In his decision, Lamberth, 82, ruled that actions taken by Kari Lake, Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) at the time, exceeded her authority. A week earlier, the judge had said Lake did not have the legal power to carry out the steps she took at VOA. Tuesday’s ruling addressed how Lake responded to Trump’s order, including placing 1,042 of VOA’s 1,147 employees on leave.
“Defendants have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth wrote, concluding that the agency’s actions could not stand under the law.
In September, Lamberth temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plan to eliminate the jobs of more than 500 people at the USAGM.
In that ruling, he called out the defendants including Lake, "The Court must offer an observation on the concerning disrespect the defendants have shown toward the Court’s orders since the entry of the preliminary injunction. It is the Court’s view that the defendants’ disregard for its earlier orders to produce information would more than support a trial on civil contempt."
He later called the defendants' behavior "egregious."
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Agency leadership in transition
There was no immediate comment from the agency overseeing VOA after the ruling. Lake had previously denounced Lamberth’s March 7 decision and said it would be appealed.
Trump has since nominated Sarah Rogers, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, to lead USAGM. Unlike Lake, Rogers’ nomination requires Senate confirmation.
VOA journalists welcome ruling
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA's White House bureau chief and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she was deeply grateful for the decision and eager to start rebuilding the organization. She said restoring VOA’s operations and reputation would be difficult but essential to fulfilling its congressional mandate.
“We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda,” Widakuswara said.
Broadcaster’s global role
Founded during World War II, VOA has long provided news to countries around the world, often where independent journalism is restricted or nonexistent. Before Trump’s executive order, VOA broadcast in 49 languages and reached an estimated 362 million people globally, according to the outlet.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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