The Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied President Donald Trump's attempt to stop the appeal of his firing of Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz in a 3-0 decision Monday.
When Trump entered office, a slate of cuts was made across the government. Voice of America (VOA) is a U.S. government-funded broadcast service that distributes news and information in 48 different languages to various countries in their own languages. A significant portion of the staff for the agency, founded by Congress, was cut, including the director.
Josh Gerstein, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, posted the decision on X.
The administration attempted to stop the appeal, but the court refused.
"Upon consideration of the motion for stay pending appeal, the response thereto, and the reply, it is ORDERED that the motion be denied. Appellants have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal," the judges wrote.
To prove that they need a stay to stop the appeal, the government had to prove to the court that it would suffer irreparable harm that is "both certain and great, actual and not theoretical..."