Court Prevents Trump from Dismissing Voice of America Employees
The president has significantly reduced federal funding to the US media agency, which an adviser characterized as “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer.” A US district judge has issued a restraining order against President Donald...
TroibNews 
The president has significantly reduced federal funding to the US media agency, which an adviser characterized as “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer.”
A US district judge has issued a restraining order against President Donald Trump’s attempts to cut down the federal agency that funds Voice of America, a broadcaster originating from WWII that was later adapted by the CIA for Cold War propaganda purposes.
In mid-March, Trump directed extensive budget cuts at VOA’s parent organization, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of a wider initiative to eliminate federal waste and align foreign aid with the administration’s “America First” policy. This executive order also included reductions targeting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, another USAGM entity established in the early 1950s as a pair of CIA front organizations.
Following this, journalists from VOA, along with unions and press freedom organizations, filed a lawsuit against the agency and its leaders. They warned that the broadcaster, which has “promoted America’s democratic ideals abroad since World War II,” would experience “irreparable harm,” and its foreign employees might face “deportation to their home countries.”
On Friday, District Judge James Paul Oetken issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the Trump administration from terminating the contracts of approximately 1,200 VOA employees who had been placed on leave earlier in the month.
The ruling prohibited USAGM from enforcing Trump’s order and from attempting to terminate, reduce, or furlough any employees or contractors. It also blocks the agency from ending federal grants or contracts or closing existing offices.
Kari Lake, a senior USAGM adviser appointed by Trump, defended the budget cuts earlier this month, asserting that the agency is “not salvageable.”
“From top to bottom, this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer – a national security risk for this nation – and irretrievably broken,” she stated.
Additionally, Elon Musk, who serves as Trump’s government efficiency czar, has also supported shutting down VOA and RFE/RL. In February, he noted that while the CIA-linked broadcasters had been valuable during the Cold War, “nobody listens to them anymore.” He described the outlets as “radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B a year of US taxpayer money.”
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
A US district judge has issued a restraining order against President Donald Trump’s attempts to cut down the federal agency that funds Voice of America, a broadcaster originating from WWII that was later adapted by the CIA for Cold War propaganda purposes.
In mid-March, Trump directed extensive budget cuts at VOA’s parent organization, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of a wider initiative to eliminate federal waste and align foreign aid with the administration’s “America First” policy. This executive order also included reductions targeting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, another USAGM entity established in the early 1950s as a pair of CIA front organizations.
Following this, journalists from VOA, along with unions and press freedom organizations, filed a lawsuit against the agency and its leaders. They warned that the broadcaster, which has “promoted America’s democratic ideals abroad since World War II,” would experience “irreparable harm,” and its foreign employees might face “deportation to their home countries.”
On Friday, District Judge James Paul Oetken issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the Trump administration from terminating the contracts of approximately 1,200 VOA employees who had been placed on leave earlier in the month.
The ruling prohibited USAGM from enforcing Trump’s order and from attempting to terminate, reduce, or furlough any employees or contractors. It also blocks the agency from ending federal grants or contracts or closing existing offices.
Kari Lake, a senior USAGM adviser appointed by Trump, defended the budget cuts earlier this month, asserting that the agency is “not salvageable.”
“From top to bottom, this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer – a national security risk for this nation – and irretrievably broken,” she stated.
Additionally, Elon Musk, who serves as Trump’s government efficiency czar, has also supported shutting down VOA and RFE/RL. In February, he noted that while the CIA-linked broadcasters had been valuable during the Cold War, “nobody listens to them anymore.” He described the outlets as “radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B a year of US taxpayer money.”
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
