Trump Admin Blocked From Cleaning House At Voice Of America

A federal judge on Monday halted the Trump administration’s push to purge more than 500 employees from the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), throwing up a roadblock to one of President Donald Trump’s efforts to rein in Washington’s sprawling bureaucracy.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued an order stopping Acting USAGM CEO Kari Lake from carrying out her plan to lay off 532 staffers, the majority of whom work at Voice of America. VOA, a taxpayer-funded broadcaster meant to represent America abroad, has long been criticized by conservatives for its leftward tilt. Lake has described the network as “rotten to the core” and “anti-American.”

“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.

Lake had argued the firings were vital to “help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money.” USAGM also oversees Radio Free Europe and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, but Voice of America was the main target of the cuts.

Lamberth pushed back sharply, saying the administration had not defended the layoffs on their actual merits. “Rather than providing a rationale for the [reduction in force] on its merits, the defendants instead offer an array of other reasons not to grant relief. But even a cursory examination of the relevant law and key facts reveal these objections are all bark and no bite,” he wrote.

The judge also criticized Lake for ignoring prior court orders. “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. 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,” Lamberth added.

In his decision, Lamberth stressed that a recent Supreme Court ruling — which gave the Trump administration authority to eliminate hundreds of positions at the Department of Education — did not apply to the USAGM case.

Lake fired back in a statement to the Washington Post, saying district courts were the ones showing “huge disrespect” toward the executive branch. “The American people voted overwhelmingly to support President Donald J. Trump and his agenda to clean up Washington,” she said.

Back in March, Trump signed an executive order directing USAGM to be “eliminated to the maximum extent possible consistent with federal law.” White House officials have argued that outlets like Voice of America strayed from their original mission and are now pushing a partisan, left-wing agenda.

A fact sheet from the administration highlighted VOA reports on transgender-identifying migrants seeking asylum and lectures on “white privilege” as examples of taxpayer-funded media undermining U.S. values abroad.

The fight over USAGM is the latest flashpoint in Trump’s broader effort to confront entrenched bureaucracies he believes are hostile to his administration’s mission — and to the voters who put him in office.