Judge Lamberth Rules: Rehire all VOA Staff & Resume Broadcasts

A federal judge, appointed by President Reagan, ruled Saturday that Kari Lake, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, lacked legal authority to take the actions she has taken to largely dismantle the Voice of America. The decision’s effect on VOA operations was not immediately clear.

Lake called the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth “bogus.” She said it will be appealed.

Voice of America has transmitted left-wing news coverage to countries around the world since its formation during World War II. It is operating with a skeleton staff in only a handful of languages. This is after Lake terminated contracts and laid off most of its employees.

He Has Ruled This Way Before

Lamberth was ruling on a lawsuit filed by Patsy Widakuswara, Voice of America’s White House bureau chief, and colleagues Kate Neeper and Jessica Jerreat. They were among the employees laid off by Lake and have been fighting the actions.

“We feel vindicated and deeply grateful,” the journalists said in a statement. They said the ruling against Lake “is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution that we love.” They said they are still trying to determine what the action effectively means for colleagues whose careers have been in limbo.

In April, Judge Lamberth ruled that shrinking VOA was Congress’s job. Lamberth directed the administration to take all necessary measures to reinstate the employees and resume the broadcasts. He cited congressional authorization and funding of these broadcasts. Lamberth emphasizes their mission to deliver accurate, objective, and comprehensive news to global audiences.

Kari Lake has said that Voice of America and its subsidiaries have been taxpayer-funded propaganda outlets. They are spreading Marxism, LGBT ideology, DEI, CCP propaganda, and anti-Americanism. She called it corrupt.

The Persian account of Voice of America has written:
“Sarah Rogers, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, appeared before Congress and defended Kari Lake’s performance at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, stating that in the past the organization’s resources were used to silence… https://t.co/Y82IZbtsAR

— Ahmad Batebi 🛡️ 🇮🇷 🇺🇸 (@radiojibi) March 7, 2026

Kari Lake said they don’t know where the money goes, and the plan was to strip it down to its statutory minimum.

Maryland Judge Lamberth has demanded that Trump rehire probationary employees and put biological men in women’s prisons, and was vicious in J6 sentencings.

.@KariLake: “Maybe a little more than half of our budget, which Congress appropriates, comes into the agency and immediately slides right into these grantees.

We’re trying to figure out where the money is going when it hits those grantees bank accounts. Is it going towards… pic.twitter.com/qps6B0cKTU

— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) April 9, 2025

Norm Eisen is celebrating his lawfare to keep the Voice of America propaganda going. Since he is so gung-ho about VoA, @KariLake should make 100% of the content about Making America Great Again and 24/7/365 anti-globalist messaging. pic.twitter.com/iKCrMgH2ga

— The Researcher (@listen_2learn) April 22, 2025