An US court has ruled that the effective shutdown of the Voice of America last year was against the law and has ordered the return of hundreds of its staff.
Judicial Mandate Issues One-Week Timeline
Federal Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government one week to put the international broadcaster back on air.
Wartime Roots and Trump-Era Closure
The VOA was first set up during World War Two with the aim of countering Nazi disinformation.
Only a short time after returning to office as president, Donald Trump issued an executive order to defund the broadcaster, which his officials claimed had political bias. The order also included networks such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, calling for them to be phased out as much as legally possible.
Management Changes and Mass Dismissals
President Trump named Kari Lake to head the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent company that oversees and funds the VOA and related networks.
Lake proceeded to terminate the vast majority of the agency's employees—more than 1,000 staff at VOA alone—leaving just a small number of employees remaining.
Most of the affected 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.
Court’s Reasoning and Decision
Last week, Judge Lamberth ruled that Lake did not have 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 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 no a reasonable basis for their decision,” Lamberth wrote.
Reporters’ Legal Challenge and Response
Three VOA journalists had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, said she was deeply grateful for the judge's decision.
“We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda,” she told reporters.
Unclear Next Steps and Wider Context
It is uncertain if Lake's nominated 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 attacks of the VOA form part of his wider attacks against the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as highly polarised.
