FILE PHOTO: A reporter trails United States Agency for Global Media's (USAGM) Kari Lake as she walks on the driveway outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
A federal judge dealt another major blow to the Trump administration's effort to dismantle Voice of America, ordering more than 1,000 employees back to work after a year on paid leave, according to a new report.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled Tuesday that the near-total shutdown of the U.S. Agency for Global Media was unlawful and violated federal administrative law, The Washington Post reported. The Reagan appointee ordered employees to return by March 23 and demanded the agency resume international broadcasting, which has largely gone silent over the past year.
Lamberth unleashed harsh criticism on the Trump administration's “flagrant and nearly year-long refusal” to abide by statutory requirements set by Congress. He particularly targeted Kari Lake, the official who orchestrated the dismantling.
“The defendants’ persistent omission and withholding of key information in this case has been a Hallmark production in bad faith,” he wrote of Lake and the government in a footnote.
The ruling vacates a March 2025 memo that slashed the agency to just 68 positions, eliminating hundreds of roles. VOA Director Michael Abramowitz called himself "thrilled" with the decision, stating that "Voice of America has never been more needed."
“We are eager to begin repairing the damage Kari Lake has inflicted on our agency and our colleagues, to return to our congressional mandate, and to rebuild the trust of the global audience we have been unable to serve for the past year,” the plaintiffs said in a statement.
They celebrated the ruling as "monumental," and vowed to repair damage and rebuild trust with global audiences.