A federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s effort to terminate 532 staffers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent agency of Voice of America (VOA). The order came a day before the layoffs were set to take place.
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How Trump’s executive order is connected
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March to dismantle the VOA, which he accused of airing “radical propaganda.” In response, USAGM employees and their unions sued to block the move, claiming that the administration had violated their First Amendment rights through firings that threatened the freedom of the press.
Judge says VOA leaders failed to comply with previous orders
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said senior officials at the agency repeatedly refused to comply with previous orders to keep VOA’s main operations intact.
He criticized agency leadership for their “concerning disrespect” for court orders under the leadership of Kari Lake, warning that it may prompt contempt proceedings.
Lamberth accuses administration of misleading him
Lamberth accused the Trump administration of deceiving him about efforts to lay off employees as he expressed concerns with staff reductions impacting the agency’s legal obligations to broadcast in countries with authoritarian regimes like North Korea, as well as countries in the Middle East and Europe.
“The Court no longer harbors any doubt that defendants lack a plan to comply with the preliminary injunction, and instead have been running out the clock on the fiscal year, while remaining in violation of even the most meager reading of USAGM and Voice of America’s statutory obligations,” Lamberth said in his written ruling.
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Voice of America was established during World War II to subvert Nazi propaganda, and its first broadcast was in German on Feb. 24, 1942.
Lake’s prior criticism of Lamberth
USAGM has yet to respond to the ruling. Meanwhile, Lake has previously criticized Lamberth’s prior cases involving Capitol riot defendants and rulings against the Trump administration, including blocking the administration’s efforts to house transgender women prisoners in men’s facilities.
“I think some of his rulings have been absurd, as I said, terrible,” Lake said on Sept. 9, in a public transcript obtained by Politico. “He went crazy on the J6ers. He wants transgender men who are violent, cross-dressing men who are mentally ill to be in a jail cell with women. I actually know the difference between men and women, and I actually give a shit about women and their safety. So I don’t love his rulings, but I don’t have any disdain in my heart for this man.”
