NEW YORK (AP) — The Voice of America continues to stand strong.
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the long-standing U.S. government-supported international news service, describing the action as a “classic case of arbitrary and capricious decision making.”
Judge James Paul Oetken intervened, preventing the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, from dismissing over 1,200 journalists, engineers, and other personnel that were sidelined two weeks ago after President Donald Trump ordered significant cuts to its funding.
Oetken issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits the agency from “any further attempts to terminate, reduce the workforce, place on leave, or furlough” employees or contractors, and from shutting down any offices or mandating overseas employees to return to the U.S.
The ruling also prevents the Agency for Global Media from cutting grant funding to its other broadcasting services, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Afghanistan. Following a court order in Washington, D.C., the agency announced Thursday that it was reinstating funding for Radio Free Europe.
“This is a significant win for press freedom and the First Amendment, and a strong admonition” of the Trump administration’s “complete indifference to the principles that define our democracy,” stated the plaintiffs’ attorney Andrew G. Celli Jr.
Criticism of Trump administration’s strategy
During a hearing on Friday in Manhattan, Oetken criticized the Trump administration for “taking a sledgehammer to an agency that has received statutory authorization and funding from Congress.”
The judge pointed out the agency’s officials, including special adviser Kari Lake, for abruptly halting operations on the U.S. government’s global communication platform with “no regard for the consequences.”
Oetken made his ruling after a coalition of Voice of America journalists, labor unions, and the nonprofit journalism advocacy organization Reporters Without Borders filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last week to prevent the budget cuts. Their ultimate aim is to restore VOA’s broadcasting.
The plaintiffs contended that the shutdown breached a previous court decision during Trump’s first term, which affirmed that VOA journalists are protected from White House meddling. They emphasized that the absence of VOA from the airwaves creates a vacuum that will be exploited by “propagandists whose narratives will dominate global communications,” they argued.
Trump and other Republicans have accused Voice of America of harboring a “leftist bias” and failing to convey “pro-American” ideals to its international audience, despite being mandated by Congress to function as a non-partisan media entity.
Voice of America ceased broadcasting shortly after Trump signed an executive order on March 14, which cut funding to the Agency for Global Media and six other unrelated federal agencies as part of his initiative to reduce government size and align it with his political goals. This month, there was also a move to terminate VOA contracts with news agencies, including The Associated Press.
The White House referred to the service as “The Voice of Radical America” and suggested that Trump’s directive would “ensure that taxpayers are no longer burdened with radical propaganda.” They cited coverage deemed “too favorable” to former President Joe Biden, along with topics like white privilege, racial profiling, and transgender migrants seeking asylum.
For the current fiscal year, Congress has allocated nearly $860 million for the Agency for Global Media.
Pending additional lawsuits
Three federal lawsuits in Washington, D.C. are challenging different aspects of the budget cuts, including a case initiated by Voice of America’s director and three journalists. Oetken indicated he would decide later on the government’s request to move his case there.
Voice of America has been operational since World War II, delivering news into authoritarian regimes that lack a free press. It was established as a counter to Nazi propaganda and played a crucial role during the Cold War in efforts to mitigate the spread of communism.
According to the lawsuit, Voice of America staff were instructed to conclude their live broadcasts on March 15 and then evacuate the premises. Shortly thereafter, the lawsuit claims, they lost access to agency computer systems, including email. The news website for Voice of America has not been updated since.
Lake, who previously worked as a TV news anchor and political candidate, indicated that she has been assessing the required staffing levels to operate some of these outlets within the legal minimums.
Some individuals have been invited back to work, and at least one service — Radio Marti in Cuba — has resumed broadcasting, Lake told One America News Network in an interview shared Thursday on X.
“We’re expecting lawsuits,” Lake stated. “This is just typical. Both President Trump and I have been victims of ‘lawfare’. It’s the same individuals trying to place obstacles in the path of every step the President and this administration take to restore this government to a more affordable state.”
Echoing the White House’s concerns, Lake remarked: “We want to ensure that these agencies reflect what our American values are. We’re sharing America’s narrative, not the narratives of our adversaries.”
“By God,” she concluded, “we will not disseminate anti-American rhetoric.”
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Associated Press media writer David Bauder contributed to this report.
