The court has stayed a lower court order intended to restore the agency to its pre-controversy state. Second, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth’s (D.C.) preliminary injunction on April 22 blocking any further action on these “admission-free” policies. The case ordered the Trump administration to restore VOA operations that had been eliminated by an executive order.
In his ruling, Judge Lamberth stated that the administration’s actions “almost certainly” violated fundamental constitutional protections. The D.C. Circuit Court’s panel, composed of Judges Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas—both appointed by former President Trump—decided to issue a stay on the lower court’s order. This stay further freezes the status quo in favor of VOA and puts a permanent stop to the government’s push to restore its operations.
The appellate court’s decision has put Voice of America’s future in doubt. In her dissenting opinion, Judge Nina Pillard criticized the majority’s decision, stating it amounts to “silencing Voice of America for the foreseeable future.” This is a very common refrain of advocates. They think the agency should be more proactive in articulating U.S. policies in a clear and constructive way, as laid out in its enabling charter.
In March, the Trump administration directed each federal agency to review federal grants. This appropriations review primarily looked at programming through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). This review was undertaken as part of a larger transparency initiative to cut funding that runs counter to the law. Following the administration’s executive order, journalists at VOA were informed they would soon return to work, only to be met with the appellate court’s ruling that paused their reinstatement.
As recently as July, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brenda González Horowitz assured attorneys for VOA employees that all was on track for their forced return to the office. This most recent escalation has thrown those plans into disarray. The appellate court then granted the pipeline’s request for a stay. This new interpretation effectively puts all actions to return VOA to its prior independent state under a forceful ban.
Steve Herman, a VOA journalist, remarked on the challenges facing the agency, stating, “We’re going to have to bring VOA out of a deep coma.” A glimmer of hope, to be sure, but his comments reveal the uphill battle the new organization has in treading through state legal and administrative morass.
As Voice of America continues to navigate these unsettling changes, the integrity of its future remains to be seen. The current media storm this ongoing legal saga spotlights an alarming reality that has complicated media operations and government accountability in today’s political climate.
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