Federal Appeals Court Suspends Order for Voice of America Employees to Resume Work

In a significant legal development, a federal appeals court has issued a stay on a ruling that mandated the Trump administration to reinstate over 1,000 employees of the Voice of America (VOA). This decision came on May 3, following an earlier order by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, which required the administration to take all necessary measures to restore staff and resume broadcasting operations across radio, television, and online platforms.

The appeals court, in a narrow 2-1 ruling, argued that Judge Lamberth may have exceeded his authority in directing the return of employees and the reinstatement of $15 million in funding for Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. The U.S. Agency for Global Media had placed a significant number of its workforce on leave and communicated to approximately 600 contractors that their employment would be terminated after abruptly halting broadcasts in March, a decision that was made under directives from the Trump administration.

Despite this setback, the appeals court noted that the government did not contest Lamberth's ruling that mandated the restoration of VOA's programming levels as required by law. Reports surfaced on Friday indicating that VOA was preparing to resume its broadcasts as early as next week. However, the U.S. Agency for Global Media has not commented on the recent court decision.

Judge Cornelia Pillard, who dissented in the ruling, expressed concern that the decision would effectively lead to the dismantling of the networks, ultimately silencing VOA and jeopardizing the operational capabilities of Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. She warned that by the time this case is fully resolved, the networks could cease to exist in any meaningful capacity.

This unprecedented shutdown under the Trump administration marked the first time in VOA's 80-year history that it ceased news reporting. The agency's website has not been updated since March 15, and international radio stations that depend on its programming have either stopped broadcasting or are only playing music.

Congress established the requirement for these broadcasts, explicitly preventing the executive branch from unilaterally terminating or defunding them, as Judge Lamberth pointed out in his initial ruling. The directive to halt operations was announced by Trump advisor Kari Lake on March 15, who argued that the agency was 'irretrievably broken' and biased against Trump, leading to the decision to place nearly all employees of the U.S. Agency for Global Media on leave.