Headline Roundup • March 9th, 2026
Judge Voids Voice of America Layoffs, Says Kari Lake Ran USAGM Unlawfully
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Saturday, a federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump's move to delegate control of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to Kari Lake was unlawful, and the layoffs at Voice of America (Center bias) (VOA) were voided.
The Details: In a 17-page decision, US District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that because Lake was not authorized by Congress to become the head of USAGM last July, her appointment by Trump was unlawful and violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The ruling not only voids Lake's layoff of hundreds of employees across USAGM, it also voids her reductions in spending - including a significant reduction in broadcasting capabilities and the cancellation of USAGM's lease of new office space.
Key Quotes: Lamberth wrote, "The Court finds that these expansive delegations were an unlawful effort to transform Lake into the CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media in all but name." Lake said, "An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM. Judge Lamberth has a pattern of activist rulings โ and this case is no different. We strongly disagree with this decision and will appeal." A complaint filed by VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakusware and several other USAGM employees stated, ย "The judge's ruling that Kari Lake's actions shall have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution that we love."
For Context: Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 to gut the agency, and Lake has since defended the layoffs. Congress has continued to fund USAGM, and Lake relinquished her position as CEO last November.
How the Media Covered It: CNN (Lean Left) called the ruling a "remarkable rebuke" of Lake, a "fierce loyalist" of Trump. The Washington Examiner (Lean Right) reported that Lake had called herself a reformer who would fix what she called "the most corrupt agency in Washington."ย
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Featured Coverage of this Story
A federal judge on Saturday voided layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) while also ruling that the U.S. Agency for Global Media's (USAGM) acting CEO, Kari Lake, unlawfully ran the independent federal agency.
U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C., Judge Royce Lamberth wrote that Lake oversaw the media agency in violation of the Constitution's appointments clause and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
Lamberth's ruling comes after VOA's White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara filed the lawsuit last year.
President Trump nominated Lake to be senior adviser to acting CEO Victor...
A federal judge on Saturday voided mass layoffs at Voice of America after ruling Kari Lake's appointment invalid, a major rejection of President Donald Trump's attempts to dismantle the government-funded news group.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, in a 17-page opinion, concluded that Lake was ineligible to serve as the acting CEO of U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOA's parent agency, after being elevated to the position on July 31, 2025, in an "acting capacity" and without Senate confirmation.
Lake later relinquished the position on Nov. 19, 2025. The judge...
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In a victory for Voice of America staffers, a federal judge ruled Saturday that Kari Lake unlawfully ran the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for several months last year.
The mass layoffs and other actions undertaken during that time "are void," US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote.
The ruling was a remarkable rebuke of Lake, a failed Arizona gubernatorial and US Senate candidate and fierce loyalist of President Trump.
Lake immediately called the judge an "activist" and said the agency would appeal.
