A federal court has ruled that the practical shutdown of the VOA last year was “illegal” and has commanded the return of many of its journalists.
Judicial Mandate Issues One-Week Timeline
Federal Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government seven days to restore the broadcaster's operations.
Wartime Roots and Trump-Era Closure
The VOA was first established in World War Two to counter Nazi disinformation.
Just weeks after returning to office as president, Donald Trump signed an executive order to close 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 phased out as much as legally possible.
Leadership Shake-Up and Widespread Firings
President Trump named Kari Lake to run the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent company that oversees and funds the VOA and other networks.
Lake then fire over 85 percent of the agency's employees—more than 1,000 staff at VOA alone—leaving just a small number of employees remaining.
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 Reasoning 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 labeled the decision to sack the journalists as “arbitrary and capricious,”, adding that the government had failed to consider laws that dictate what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“Defendants 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 continue to support our mission to produce factual reporting, not biased messaging,” she told the Associated Press.
Unclear Next Steps and Wider Implications
It is not clear if Lake's proposed successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment requires Senate confirmation—will challenge the ruling.
Prior to its shutdown, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in nearly 50 languages.
Trump's attacks of the VOA are part of his wider attacks against the US media, which studies suggest American news consumers view as highly polarised.
