Employees of Voice of America (VOA) who had spent nearly a year on paid administrative leave may soon return to work after U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled that efforts to scale down the broadcaster were unlawful.
On Tuesday, Judge Lamberth ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VOA’s parent body, to reinstate more than 1,000 employees and resume full operations. The judge said the near-total shutdown of the agency, which also oversees outlets such as Radio Free Asia, violated federal administrative law.
Under the President Trump administration’s "DOGE" initiative, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) faced a massive downsizing effort starting in March 2025, which saw roughly 85% of staff, including over 1,000 Voice of America employees, placed on indefinite leave and several foreign language services suspended.
Lamberth directed that staff be brought back by March 23 and that international broadcasting, largely halted over the past year except for limited output, airing in languages such as Farsi, be restored.
In his ruling, the judge criticised what he described as a “flagrant and nearly year-long refusal” to comply with legal obligations. He also said that Kari Lake, the Trump official who oversaw the dismantling of the agency and the government's withholding of key information regarding the case, was in “bad faith".
The decision came following two related lawsuits, one filed by VOA Director Michael Abramowitz and another by a group of employees.
In a joint statement, plaintiffs Patsy Widakuswara, Jessica Jerreat and Kate Neeper described the ruling as a “monumental decision” and said they were ready to rebuild the organisation and restore its global audience.
“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,” they wrote.
The ruling overturns a March 2025 memorandum that had reduced the agency to just 68 positions, effectively dismantling most of its operations.
Officials from USAGM and the Justice Department have yet to react or respond to the ruling.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 24th July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. strikes on Iran entered a 12th consecutive night, while Yemen's Houthis said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, urging President Donald Trump to warn Tehran it would be held responsible for any future Houthi attacks.
The U.S. military said it completed a fresh wave of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, marking the 13th consecutive night of American attacks. The latest operation lasted more than two hours, according to U.S. Central Command.
Aleksandar Vučić's visit to Kyiv on 15 July appeared to send a geopolitical signal. But the significance of the trip lies less in the journey itself than in the limits Serbia carefully observed.
Spain has declared a national emergency and evacuated more than 10,000 people after uncontrolled wildfires reached the outskirts of Madrid. Emergency crews have rescued residents as multiple blazes continue to spread across the region.
A Russian ballistic missile strike in Ukraine’s Kyiv region has killed 10 people and injured nearly 100 others at an event involving representatives of the country’s defence industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington next week as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East.
The International Criminal Court has voted to remove its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, bringing a dramatic end to a controversy that has shaken the world's highest war crimes tribunal in recent times.
President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated what he called a "historic milestone" for civilian nuclear energy, announcing that four American companies had successfully achieved criticality for advanced reactor designs by the 4 July deadline he set last year.
Six candidates vying to become the next United Nations Secretary-General have called for restoring the organisation's credibility, strengthening multilateralism and reforming the UN, during the first public town hall debate ahead of a decisive Security Council vote next week.
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