Judge Blocks VOA Layoffs, Orders Restoration Plan

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth blocked a planned U.S. Agency for Global Media reduction-in-force that would have terminated 532 employees, temporarily preserving Voice of America staff through Oct. 14 while the court considers the plaintiffs' motion. In a scathing 19-page ruling he accused acting USAGM CEO Kari Lake and other Trump administration officials of flouting his April injunction to restore VOA programming and cited shutdowns of mandated language services and a shrunken radio presence in Dari and Pashto. Lamberth said the administration misled the court, showed "concerning disrespect" for orders and congressional mandates, and warned the conduct could support civil contempt proceedings though he declined to initiate them because the plaintiffs had not sought that relief. He ordered Lake to file a plan to restore legally required programming and staffing.