An federal court has declared that the effective closure of the VOA last year was “illegal” and has commanded the reinstatement of many of its reporters.
Court Order Sets 7-Day Deadline
District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has given authorities one week to put the international broadcaster back on air.
Historical Origins and Recent Closure
The VOA was originally set up during World War Two with the aim of countering Nazi disinformation.
Only a short time after returning to office as president, Donald Trump issued an presidential directive to defund the broadcaster, which his officials claimed had political bias. The order also targeted networks such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, calling for them to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.
Leadership Changes and Widespread Firings
President Trump appointed Kari Lake to run the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the oversight body that manages and finances the VOA and related networks.
Lake proceeded to fire the vast majority of the agency's employees—more than 1,000 staff at VOA alone—leaving just a handful of employees in their jobs.
Most of the dismissed 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 Rationale and Decision
Last week, Judge Lamberth found that Lake did not have the legal power to suspend the operations of the USAGM workforce, as she had not been approved by the US Senate.
In this week's decision, the federal judge described the decision to sack the journalists as unreasonable and impulsive, adding that the government had not taken into account laws that dictate what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“The government have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth stated in his opinion.
Reporters’ Lawsuit 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 Context
It is not clear if Lake's nominated successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment needs Senate confirmation—will appeal.
Before being wound down, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in almost 50 languages.
Trump's criticisms of the VOA are part of his broader criticism of the US media, which studies suggest American news consumers view as highly polarised.
