Voice of America gets a stay of execution as judge steps in to block another Trump order

VOA, established in 1942, provides news in over 40 languages to international audiences.

UPDATED 1 DAY AGO

Critics of Trump’s move warned that defunding VOA would cede global influence to state-controlled outlets like Russia’s RT and China’s CGTN.

Washington D.C.: A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of Voice of America (VOA), the US-funded international broadcaster that the Donald Trump administration dismantled earlier this year. Judge Royce Lamberth granted a preliminary injunction to restore VOA’s operations, though the White House may appeal the decision.

The White House defended the decision, claiming it would stop taxpayer funding for “radical propaganda”.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by VOA employees seeking to reverse the President's March executive order, which placed roughly 1,300 staffers on administrative leave and terminated contracts with 500 personal service contractors. The plaintiffs demanded that the court halt the dismantling of VOA and restore its personnel and operations.

Trump’s order claimed VOA promoted biased reporting and targeted its parent agency, the US Agency for Global Media, along with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. A senior White House official accused VOA of being "out of step with America" and pushing "divisive propaganda".

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VOA employees sued the Trump administration and Kari Lake, special advisor to the US Agency for Global Media, arguing that the shutdown harmed global press freedom.

"In many parts of the world, a crucial source of objective news is gone, and only censored state-sponsored media is left," the lawsuit stated. It accused the administration of taking "a chainsaw to the agency" to shut it down entirely.

VOA, established in 1942, provides news in over 40 languages to international audiences, often in regions with restricted media access. Critics of Trump’s move warned that defunding VOA would cede global influence to state-controlled outlets like Russia’s RT and China’s CGTN.