A US court has declared that the practical shuttering of the Voice of America last year was against the law and has ordered the return of many of its staff.
Court Order Sets 7-Day Timeline
District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government one week to restore the broadcaster's operations.
Wartime Roots and Recent Shutdown
The VOA was originally created in World War Two to combat Nazi disinformation.
Only a short time after being sworn in again as president, Donald Trump issued an executive order to defund the broadcaster, which his officials accused of left-wing bias. The order also targeted networks such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, stating they should be phased out as much as legally possible.
Leadership Shake-Up and Widespread Firings
President Trump appointed Kari Lake to head the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent company that manages and finances the VOA and other networks.
Lake proceeded to sack over 85 percent 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 affected 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 found that Lake lacked 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 “arbitrary and capricious,”, adding that the government had ignored legislation 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 Reaction
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 continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda,” she told the Associated Press.
Uncertain Next Steps and Wider Context
It is uncertain if Lake's proposed successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment requires Senate confirmation—will challenge the ruling.
Before being wound down, the VOA transmitted TV, radio, and digital content in nearly 50 languages.
Trump's attacks of the VOA are part of his broader attacks against the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as highly polarised.
