An US court has declared that the effective closure of the VOA last year was “illegal” and has ordered the reinstatement of many of its staff.
Judicial Order Sets One-Week Timeline
Federal Judge Royce Lamberth has given authorities seven days to restore the broadcaster's operations.
Wartime Origins and Trump-Era Closure
The VOA was originally created in World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda.
Just weeks after returning to office as president, Donald Trump signed an presidential directive to close the broadcaster, which his officials claimed had left-wing 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 Mass Dismissals
President Trump named Kari Lake to lead the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the oversight body that oversees and funds the VOA and other networks.
Lake proceeded to terminate the vast majority of the agency's employees—more than 1,000 staff at VOA alone—with only a handful of employees in their jobs.
Most of the dismissed 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.
Judge’s Reasoning 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 confirmed by the US Senate.
In this week's ruling, the federal judge described the decision to sack the journalists as unreasonable and impulsive, adding that the government had failed to consider legislation that determine 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.
Journalists’ Legal Challenge and Response
Three VOA journalists had sued the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, expressed being profoundly thankful 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.
Uncertain Future and Wider Context
It is not clear if Lake's nominated successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment requires Senate confirmation—will appeal.
Before being wound down, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in nearly 50 languages.
Trump's criticisms of the VOA are part of his wider attacks against the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as highly polarised.
