A federal judge in Washington Monday ordered the Trump administration to halt layoffs of hundreds of employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, citing "concerning disrespect" for court directives.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth paused the layoffs, affecting 532 full-time staff, while assessing compliance with his April injunction mandating that VOA remain a reliable and authoritative news source.
The layoffs stem from an executive order by President Donald Trump in March that abruptly halted VOA broadcasts.
Neither the White House, the agency, nor attorneys for the employees who filed the lawsuit commented immediately. Trump, who appointed Lake—a former news anchor and vocal supporter who has criticized mainstream media for anti-Trump bias—has previously clashed with VOA.
Established in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA reached 360 million people weekly in 2024, per a USAGM report. Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, is reviewing multiple lawsuits, including one from VOA director Michael Abramowitz, challenging the legality of Trump’s executive order.