A federal judge in the United States has issued a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration‘s plan to terminate over 500 employees at Voice of America (VOA), ruling that the layoffs contravene previous court directives and jeopardize the agency’s core mission.
On Monday, US District Judge Royce Lamberth halted the planned dismissals, which were scheduled to begin on September 30. These cuts were announced in August by Kari Lake, a senior advisor at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), who has spearheaded President Donald Trump’s initiative to restructure government-funded media organizations.
In his order, Lamberth stated, “The Reduction in Force announced by Defendant Lake on or about August 29, 2025, is hereby SUSPENDED and shall NOT proceed until this Court has ruled on the plaintiffs’ Motion,” referencing upcoming legal hearings set for the following month.
The judge highlighted that hundreds of VOA staff had already received layoff notices in June, a consequence of what he described as the Trump administration’s unprecedented freeze on the broadcaster-the first such action since VOA’s establishment in 1942.
Within his detailed 19-page ruling, Lamberth referenced a prior preliminary injunction issued in April, which found Lake’s measures to be “arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful.” The current decision aims to uphold that injunction and ensure VOA’s programming continues uninterrupted, enabling USAGM to meet its legal responsibilities.
Lake defended the workforce reductions, characterizing the June notices as part of a “necessary and overdue effort to eliminate an inefficient and unaccountable bureaucracy.”
However, the court sharply criticized Lake and other defendants for obstructing attempts to verify whether a compliance strategy had been formulated.
“The Court is now convinced that the defendants have no plan to adhere to the preliminary injunction and have instead been delaying compliance as the fiscal year draws to a close, remaining in violation of their statutory duties,” Lamberth asserted.
Established during World War II, VOA and its affiliated entities under USAGM-including Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting-have historically served as instruments of American soft power, promoting democratic values and countering foreign misinformation.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized US-funded media outlets, questioning VOA’s editorial independence and accusing the broadcaster of unfairly targeting his administration.
