Federal Judge Voids USAGM/VOA Layoffs
• A federal judge in Washington ruled Saturday that Kari Lake has unlawfully served as chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America, and nullified many actions she has taken in the role, including last year’s mass layoffs of more than 1,000 journalists and staffers at the USAGM and the Voice of America.
The Washington Post notes, “In a 17-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth granted summary judgment to a group of employees, led by Voice of America’s former White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara, who last year sued Lake, a former television news anchor-turned failed gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate. Judge Lamberth found that Lake, who was appointed by President Trump, violated the Constitution’s appointments clause and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act by helming the agency. “The Court finds that these expansive delegations were an unlawful effort to transform Lake into the CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media in all but name,” Lamberth wrote.
The decision is the latest in a string of legal defeats to the Trump administration’s year-long effort to dismantle USAGM, the federal agency that in addition to Voice of America oversees other U.S.-funded international broadcasters including Radio Free Asia. After Trump issued an executive order last March ordering the drawdown of the agency, Lake placed most staffers on administrative leave and cut hundreds of contractors.
In a statement, Lake said, “The American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government. An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM…. We strongly disagree with this decision and will appeal.” Judge Lamberth, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, noted, “Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution.”
In their own statement issued after Judge Lamberth’s ruling, the plaintiffs — Widakuswara, Jessica Jerreat and Kate Neeper — said they felt “vindicated and deeply grateful,” adding, “The judge’s ruling that Kari Lake’s actions shall have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution that we love. Even as we work through what this ruling means for colleagues harmed by her actions, it brings renewed hope and momentum to the next phase of our fight: restoring VOA’s global operations and ensuring we continue to produce journalism, not propaganda.”
