Judge blocks Kari Lake from laying off over 500 Voice of America staffers
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth temporarily blocked the layoffs of more than 500 Voice of America employees, delivering a setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the United States’ international broadcasting agency.
The order Monday halts terminations scheduled for Sept. 30 and comes amid a protracted legal battle over whether the administration’s gutting of the U.S. Agency for Global Media violates federal broadcasting law. VOA journalists have been fighting in federal court since March to restore the agency’s operations after President Donald Trump issued an executive order reducing it to its “minimum presence and function required by law.”
Lamberth said the reduction-in-force would put VOA out of compliance with his April preliminary injunction requiring the agency to follow its obligations under federal law. Beyond that, he offered scathing critiques of the way Kari Lake and the government have communicated with the court.
“Time and time again, the defendants have resisted the court’s efforts to obtain information concerning whether they have fashioned a plan for compliance,” Lamberth wrote in his order. “The court no longer harbors any doubt that defendants lack a plan to comply with the preliminary injunction and instead have been running out the clock on the fiscal year while remaining in violation of even the most meager reading of USAGM and Voice of America’s statutory obligations.”
Government attorneys have argued that the court lacks jurisdiction over personnel decisions and that current VOA operations satisfy legal requirements. Once broadcasting in 49 languages, the agency now produces content in only four: Mandarin, Dari, Pashto and Farsi.
While Lake has successfully fired more than 500 contractors in her role as acting CEO of USAGM, she has had a tougher time getting rid of full-time employees. In June, USAGM had to rescind RIF notices sent to staffers because of administrative errors. Lamberth also blocked Lake from firing VOA Director Michael Abramowitz, a former Washington Post reporter and a plaintiff against her in court, after he refused a job at a North Carolina broadcasting station.
Lamberth, who was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, took particular aim at Lake in his order Monday. In a footnote, he criticized her “brazen disinterest” in her statutory obligations and her “pugnacious assertions of authority” during a recent eight-hour deposition.
Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, the lead plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits challenging the firings said they were “extremely gratified” by Lamberth’s finding.
Lamberth ended his order with a rare postscript. “The court must offer an observation on the concerning disrespect the defendants have shown toward the court’s orders since the entry of the preliminary injunction,” he wrote. “It is the court’s view that the defendants’ disregard for its earlier orders to produce information would more than support a trial on civil contempt.”
The only reason he has not started contempt proceedings, he said, is because the plaintiffs have not asked for it.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the number of languages in which VOA once broadcasted. The agency broadcasted in 49 languages, not 63. Originally moved Sept. 29,2025.
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