The order requires the return of employees who were fired or placed on leave.
District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled this week that President Trump’s administration must restore funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which is the parent entity of the government news outlet Voice of America (VOA) and other outlets.
Judge Lamberth wrote that VOA “is not reporting the news for the first time in its 80-year existence” and “radio stations abroad that rely on VOA’s programming have either gone dark or air only music” after the administration halted funding.
The judge wrote that the president’s administration “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.”
He ordered that employees who were placed on leave or fired be given their jobs back and that programming be restored.
President Trump had stated that VOA and USAGM published propaganda rather than independent news.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For federal judges as they hear and rule on challenges to the actions of President Trump’s administration.
- For President Trump and members of his Cabinet as they seek to reduce the national debt and eliminate wasteful government spending.
Sources: Axios, The Hill
