On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down government-funded international radio broadcasts, including Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. The shutdown, implemented in March by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), had placed over 1,000 employees on leave, prompting six lawsuits from affected staff and contractors. Judge Lamberth directed the administration to take all necessary measures to reinstate the employees and resume the broadcasts. He cited congressional authorization and funding of these broadcasts, emphasizing their mission to deliver accurate, objective and comprehensive news to global audiences.
The court’s decision underscores the legal requirement for the administration to adhere to congressional mandates regarding government-funded media operations. The ruling mandates the immediate rehiring of all affected staff and the resumption of full operations at the impacted broadcasting services.
“In short, the defendants had no method or approach towards shutting down USAGM that this Court can discern,” said Lamberth, an appointee of former President Reagan. “They took immediate and drastic action to slash USAGM, without considering its statutorily or constitutionally required functions as required by the plain language of the EO, and without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world.
“It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants’ actions here,” the judge said.
A handful of VOA reporters, unions and the international free press advocacy nonprofit Reporters Without Borders (RSF) sued the Trump administration last month over its effort to disband the news outlets.
After Trump penned an executive order to shutter USAGM, its employees and contractors were put on administrative leave. The coalition that sued also sought to restore funding for VOA’s sister networks, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Middle Eastern Broadcast Network (MBN) and the Open Technology Fund.
This development follows a series of legal challenges against the administration’s efforts to dismantle these media outlets, which critics argue undermines press freedom and the United States’ commitment to providing unbiased news to international audiences. The administration’s actions had sparked widespread concern among journalists, free press advocates and lawmakers.
The Trump administration has not yet publicly responded to the court’s ruling. The reinstatement of these broadcasting services is seen as a significant affirmation of the importance of independent, government-funded international media in promoting democratic values and providing reliable information worldwide.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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Every one of these, so called, news outlets are so far to the left that they are hanging off of Stalin’s moustash.
In other words once it is ingrained in the goverment it can never be stopped even though nobody listens to it or cares about the “cold war relic”.
the millions of dollars the government gives to these media outlets needs to be stopped. if it takes congress to do this then they need to pass a bill to suspend all funding to all of the media outlets. there is no reason the government should be funding any media outlet no matter what their political affiliation may be. there is so much government waste something needs to be done immediately.
These judges don’t have a problem with the 33 Trillion dollars of debt they and the Biden administration put this country into. Trump should take all of the slush fund budgets including the judicial system and cut their budgets by 30% + and freeze the budgets at present levels including their salaries. These judges need to feel some pain along with the rest of us. I think that is appropriate.
Another day, another judge! Trump’s team needs to retaliate with suites explaining why judges are not permitted to usurp a president’s constitutional authority. It appears the D.C. court has taken away Trump’s presidential powers and we the people no longer have any say regarding our wishes when we gave him a mandate for change. Trump can always do what Obama and Biden did when confronted by similar scenarios. They said, we know what we want to do is illegal but we are going to do it anyway until somebody can stop us. To the democrat faithful I say beware and wise up! You are being led by a group of Marxist and American democrat oligarchs. They do not have your best interest in mind. They just want your money so they can continue to buy elections and steal your money through their corrupt laws and lies.
This is getting absolutely ridiculous. If they wanted to be President, then why didn’t they run for office? Or maybe there are other motivations.
We need to see more rulings against this administration. Professor Hanson is a gighly respected commentator and one of the few not a talinfg head.
Thank you Judge Lamberth and thank you for this post.
With regards,
Donald Paster
San Antonio, Texas
How many of those employees are Democrats? How many of those broadcast had a conservative slant or a left wing slant?
No government media can express unbiased news or opinions. it has to be thru independent media without any government funding.
“the importance of independent, government-funded international media in promoting democratic values and providing reliable information worldwide.”
That is the specific issue at hand, regardless of the Congressional funding mandate! Are these “VOA sister networks, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Middle Eastern Broadcast Network (MBN) and the Open Technology Fund” actually providing independent, unbiased news to international audiences, or are they more or less propaganda arms of the government and/or NGOs? That was the apparent reason their funding was being frozen, their information was too much like that presented by NPR …
.
1) There is literally no such thing as “independent, government-funded international media”. It is completely oxymoronic.
2) If the judiciary is going to overrule every single Executive branch decision, why should we bother with the Executive branch at all?
NO
Another outrage by the left wing morons whose intent is the destruction of America. All propaganda that shows the USA in a negative light is OK by them!