Federal Judge Pauses Trump Administration’s VOA Layoffs Amid Legal Clash

September 30, 2025 – USA – 

A U.S. federal judge has ordered an immediate halt to plans by the Trump administration to terminate 532 full-time employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent body overseeing Voice of America (VOA).

In a ruling issued September 29, Judge Royce Lamberth criticized the agency’s leadership and acting CEO Kari Lake for showing “concerning disrespect” toward earlier court orders and for failing to present a credible compliance plan. The layoffs had been scheduled to take effect shortly afterward.

The court’s intervention is grounded in an April injunction requiring VOA to maintain operations in line with its statutory mission: to act as a “consistently reliable and authoritative” news source. According to the judge, the agency had been running out the clock on its fiscal year while ignoring that injunction, placing itself in violation of its legal obligations.

President Trump’s administration had earlier issued an executive order in March 2025 to curtail VOA’s broadcasting operations and drastically reduce staffing. Critics say the proposed cuts jeopardize VOA’s ability to carry out its mission, especially in regions with restricted press freedoms.

This ruling marks another twist in a broader legal and political battle over the U.S. government’s influence on public broadcasting. Many observers view it as an affirmation that independent media institutions must be shielded from abrupt executive overreach.

Reference – 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/voa-voice-of-america-layoffs.html

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/us-court-suspends-trump-layoff-hundreds-voice-america-2025-09-30/