Voice of America employees have been ordered to return to work, with a judge saying Global Media adviser Kari Lake is “unlawfully withholding agency action,” undoing Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the government-run broadcaster.
More than 1,000 staffers are set to return to work on March 23, per an order from U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth.
“We are thrilled with Judge Lamberth’s ruling and look forward to getting back to work,” Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz said in a statement to TheWrap on Tuesday. “Voice of America has never been more needed. I am grateful for the resilience and dedication of VOA’s amazing workforce.”
Back in March 2025, Trump signed off on an executive order to gut VOA’s parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which also oversees other U.S.-funded news entities, by placing employees on leave and axing funding. Trump called the agency “anti-Trump” and “radical propaganda,” accusing it of wasting Americans’ money.
The website for Voice of America has been notably frozen since March 15, 2025.
In late February 2025, Trump brought in Lake as a senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media — which oversees Voice of America — sparking controversy because the network is legally required to maintain editorial independence from political influence.
Victor Morales, the agency’s once-acting CEO, first delegated CEO duties to Lake, then a senior adviser, in March 2025. She was later named acting deputy CEO in July, after which he again conferred the majority of the CEO duties. Lamberth ruled on March 7 that “it is clear that Lake had de facto control of the agency” before her designations as acting deputy and acting CEO.
Lake stepped down in November, days after a trio of Voice of America staffers — who previously sued to stop her actions — filed a motion to bar her from her leadership titles. The plaintiffs included staffers Patsy Widakuswara, Jessica Jerreat and Kate Neeper.
In a joint statement to TheWrap, the three journalists called Lamberth’s ruling “monumental.”
“This is a monumental decision, and we are deeply grateful. We are eager to begin repairing the damage Kari Lake has inflicted on our agency and our colleagues, to return to our congressional mandate, and to rebuild the trust of the global audience we have been unable to serve for the past year,” they wrote. “We know the road to restoring VOA’s operations and reputation will be long and difficult. We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda.”
