A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to fire more than 500 employees at the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sided with plaintiffs who challenged the layoffs.
Lamberth blocked Acting USAGM CEO Kari Lake’s plan to lay off 532 staffers, most of whom worked for Voice of America (VOA), while litigation over the case continues.
“The Reduction in Force announced by Defendant Lake on or about August 29, 2025, is SUSPENDED and may NOT be implemented, effectuated, or completed in any way,” Lamberth wrote in his ruling.
Trump’s Push to Rein in Bureaucracy Stalls
Lake and the administration have argued that the mass firings were necessary to streamline the bloated agency, which oversees outlets such as Radio Free Europe and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
“These reductions are critical to help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money,” Lake said last month.
She has described Voice of America as “rotten to the core” and “anti-American.”
The White House has pointed to a long record of taxpayer-funded programming that critics say veers into leftist political advocacy, citing reports that highlighted transgender-identifying migrants seeking asylum and features on “white privilege.”
In March, President Trump signed an executive order directing that USAGM be “eliminated to the maximum extent possible consistent with federal law.”
Judge Accuses Lake Of Disregarding Court Orders
In his opinion, Judge Lamberth said the administration did not defend the firings on their merits and instead raised what he called “objections that are all bark and no bite.”
He further accused Lake of ignoring prior court directives, writing that her “disregard for its earlier orders to produce information would more than support a trial on civil contempt.”
The judge also ruled that a recent Supreme Court decision did not apply to this case.
The high court’s ruling upheld the Trump administration’s authority to fire hundreds of Department of Education employees.
Lake: Courts Disrespect The Executive Branch
In response, Lake criticized the judiciary’s actions, saying district courts have shown “huge disrespect toward the Executive Branch and the American people who have voted overwhelmingly to support President Donald J. Trump.”
The ruling marks a setback for Trump’s broader effort to dismantle USAGM, an agency long accused of operating as a partisan echo chamber at taxpayer expense.
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