A US judge has declared that the effective closure of the Voice of America last year was “illegal” and has ordered the return of hundreds of its reporters.
Court Order Issues One-Week Deadline
District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government seven days to restore the broadcaster's operations.
Wartime Origins and Trump-Era Closure
The VOA was originally set up during World War Two to counter Nazi disinformation.
Only a short time after returning to office as president, Donald Trump issued an presidential directive to shut down the broadcaster, which his officials claimed had political bias. The order also included outlets such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, stating they should be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.
Management Changes and Widespread Firings
President Trump appointed Kari Lake to head the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the oversight body that manages and finances the VOA and other networks.
Lake then terminate over 85 percent of the agency's employees—over 1,000 staff at VOA by itself—leaving just a handful of employees in their jobs.
Most of the dismissed staff have been on paid administrative leave since last year. This included Persian Service reporters who were temporarily|called back to work after Israel attacked Iran last June.
Judge’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 confirmed 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 not taken into account legislation that determine what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“Defendants have provided no a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth wrote.
Journalists’ Lawsuit 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 continue to support our mission to produce factual reporting, not biased messaging,” she said to reporters.
Unclear Next Steps and Broader Context
It is not clear 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 almost 50 languages.
Trump's criticisms of the VOA form part of his wider criticism of the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as highly polarised.
