A US appeals court overturned a lower court order that directed the reinstatement of over 1,000 Voice of America (VOA) employees and the restoration of $15 million in grants. The appeals court ruled that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to issue such an order.
The Trump administration, under the direction of advisor Kari Lake, had placed these employees on leave and terminated 600 contractors after shutting down VOA broadcasts in March 2025. This action was part of a broader effort to downsize the federal government and address concerns about alleged partisan bias and foreign influence within the agency.
The appeals court judges argued that while the employees might have individual claims, these needed to be pursued through other channels. They emphasized the importance of respecting jurisdictional boundaries. Conversely, the dissenting judge argued that the stay prevented the adjudication of the case on its merits and effectively silenced VOA.
Lake celebrated the ruling as a victory for President Trump and Article II. The lower court judge, who had previously described VOA as a consistently reliable and authoritative news source, had argued that the government's actions were arbitrary and harmful. The VOA employees' lawsuit argued that the administration violated the First Amendment and exceeded its authority.
The order was hailed by USAGM advisor Kari Lake on Saturday.
A U.S. appeals court on Saturday blocked a lower court ruling that ordered the Trump administration to return 1,000 Voice of America staffers back to work amid efforts to downsize the federal government.
The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees the media agencies, placed more than 1,000 employees on leave and told 600 contractors they would be terminated after the agency shut down broadcasts in March under a directive from President Donald Trump.
In their Saturday order, appeals court judges Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas ruled in the government’s favor.
“While USAGM’s employees and contractors might have viable, discrete claims with respect to their individual personnel actions, those claims must be pursued through other remedial channels,” the judges wrote in their 39-page order.
The duo added that “of course, we recognize that the public has an interest in the Executive Branch’s compliance with congressional mandates” but added that “the public has an interest in the Judicial Branch’s respect for the jurisdictional boundaries laid down by Congress.”
“We must respect those boundaries no less than the substantive and appropriations provisions governing the operation of USAGM,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, appeals court Judge Cornelia Pillard dissented, saying that “the purpose of a stay pending appeal is to maintain the status quo until a case can be fully adjudicated on its merits.”
“This stay does the opposite, silencing Voice of America for the foreseeable future and eliminating Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks’ ability to see this case through to the end,” Pillard wrote.
Trump adviser Kari Lake, a former Republican Arizona Senate and gubernatorial candidate, announced the shutdown on March 15, placing nearly all USAGM employees on leave, saying the agency was “irretrievably broken.”
In the order on April 22, Lambeth had written that he believes VOA and other agencies under USAGM serve as “consistently reliable and authoritative” news sources. He argued that the government acted “without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world.”
“In short, the defendants had no method or approach towards shutting down USAGM that this Court can discern,” he wrote. “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 [executive order].”
An article released by the administration included reports and accounts that it says shows VOA has been effectively overrun by leftist partisans or bowed to pressure from foreign governments, including Russia and China.
“The VOA Journalists have devoted their careers to helping to build USAGM’s networks into a credible media force with global audiences in the hundreds of millions,” the filing said, in part.
It added, “What is happening to the VOA Journalists is not just the chilling of First Amendment speech; it is a government shutdown of journalism, a prior restraint that kills content before it can be created.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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