A federal judge has intervened to halt the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Voice of America, a significant U.S. government-funded international news service that has operated for over eight decades. On Friday, Judge James Paul Oetken issued a temporary restraining order, calling the attempt to shutter the service a “classic case of arbitrary and capricious decision making.” Through this order, the U.S. Agency for Global Media is prohibited from firing more than 1,200 employees it had sidelined. This includes journalists, engineers, and staff impacted by President Donald Trump’s directive to slash its funding.
The restraining order not only prevents further terminations or furloughs but also maintains operations by stopping the agency from closing offices or forcing overseas staff to return to the United States. It further ensures that grant funding for its other outlets, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Afghanistan, continues undisturbed. Recently, the agency reinstated funding for Radio Free Europe following an order from a judge in Washington, D.C.
“This ruling marks a significant victory for press freedom and the First Amendment,” stated the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Andrew G. Celli Jr., emphasizing that it serves as a sharp rebuke to the administration’s actions.
During a Friday hearing in Manhattan, Judge Oetken criticized the administration for recklessly dismantling an agency authorized and funded by Congress. The judge censured agency leadership for abruptly shutting down the U.S. government’s global megaphone without assessing the potential repercussions.
The ruling came amid challenges posed by a coalition of Voice of America journalists, labor unions, and the nonprofit group Reporters Without Borders. They sued the administration, arguing that the shutdown violated a court rule protecting VOA journalists from White House interference, and left a void filled by “propagandists” potentially monopolizing global airwaves.
In response to criticism, President Trump and some Republicans claimed that the Voice of America embodies “leftist bias,” failing to appropriately project “pro-American” values to international audiences, despite congressional requirements for it to remain non-partisan. Following an executive order on March 14, aligned with his agenda to minimize government size, Trump trimmed funding not only for the Agency for Global Media but six other unrelated federal entities, triggering the off-air status of Voice of America.
The White House had disparagingly referred to the service as “The Voice of Radical America,” deeming some of its coverage as excessively favorable towards former President Joe Biden, citing themes such as white privilege and racial profiling. This executive order aimed to ensure taxpayers aren’t funding what it labeled “radical propaganda.”
Currently, Congress has earmarked nearly $860 million for the Agency for Global Media for this fiscal year, and additional lawsuits are underway in Washington, D.C. These challenge different aspects of the cuts, including a lawsuit initiated by the Voice of America’s director and three journalists. Oetken has stated he will decide later on the government’s request to relocate the case there.
Since World War II, Voice of America has been disseminating news to authoritarian countries lacking free press, emerging as a counter to Nazi propaganda and later supporting Cold War efforts against communism. According to the lawsuit, employees were informed to end live broadcasts by March 15 and vacate the premises soon thereafter, leading to loss of access to essential computer systems. The agency’s news site has been inactive since.
Kari Lake, a special adviser to the agency and a former TV news anchor, has been determining necessary staffing to operate outlets minimally, in compliance with legal mandates. In an interview with One America News Network, Lake confirmed some employees’ return and the resumption of services like Radio Marti in Cuba.
Lake, acknowledging potential legal challenges, said, “This is just par for the course,” attesting to ongoing “lawfare” against President Trump and alleging that attempts to undermine the administration hinder its efforts to streamline government operations. “We want to ensure these agencies reflect American values,” Lake stressed, rejecting the dissemination of “anti-American garbage.”