A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to lay off more than 500 Voice of America (VOA) employees, halting a sweeping move critics say would weaken U.S. global media influence.
Hundreds of VOA staff had received termination notices in June, following an order by former President Donald Trump that froze the outlet’s operations for the first time since its founding in 1942. The layoffs were spearheaded by Kari Lake, senior advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), who described them as a necessary step to dismantle what she called a “bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy.”
But in a ruling on Monday, September 29, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth suspended the planned terminations, which were set to take effect on September 30. “The Reduction in Force announced by Defendant Lake on or about August 29, 2025, is SUSPENDED and may NOT be implemented… until this Court has ruled on the plaintiffs’ Motion,” Lamberth wrote in the order.
The judge had previously issued a preliminary injunction in April, describing Lake’s actions as “arbitrary and capricious and not in accordance with law.” He said Monday’s ruling was intended to ensure compliance with that injunction and to restore VOA’s programming so USAGM can meet its statutory mandate.
Lamberth criticized Lake and other officials for resisting court efforts to obtain information on whether they had developed a plan to comply with the April order, writing that it appeared they were “running out the clock on the fiscal year while remaining in violation of statutory obligations.”
VOA, along with Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, operates under USAGM, an independent agency created during World War II to counter propaganda and promote democratic values abroad.
Trump, who often clashed with the media, has repeatedly dismissed VOA’s editorial independence, protected by a so-called “firewall” that bars government interference, accusing it of being too critical of his administration. The case will return to court next month for further proceedings.
