A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's administration from defunding Voice of America, The Hill reported. Trump previously signed an executive order closing the federally funded news outlet's parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered USAGM to rehire employees previously dismissed from VOA, Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Network. The judge said that the agency must not stop the "consistently reliable and authoritative" new outlets from operating.
The cuts at the agency came courtesy of former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. She was charged with slashing "waste, fraud, and abuse running rampant" at the government agency.
The Department of Justice argued that staff cuts are "adverse employment actions" that warrant only monetary compensation, rather than an injunction. Lamberth disagreed, stating that her USAGM's actions threaten the "very existence" of the news outlets.
In Tuesday's decision, Lamberth made the case for propping up USAGM. The judge claims that the cuts were "immediate and drastic" and made "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," Lamberth wrote.
"It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants’ actions here," he added. VOA was put on the chopping block as part of the executive order to shut down USAGM.
Following the order, contractors and employees of USAGM were placed on administrative leave. In response to this move, affiliated labor unions, reporters, and the activist group Reporters Without Borders filed a lawsuit against the administration.
They requested additional funding for VOA and other networks under USAGM, including Radio Free Asia, Open Technology Fund, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It claimed these were essential organizations and that dispensing with them would undermine the interests of the U.S.
"In many parts of the world, a crucial source of objective news is gone, and only censored state-sponsored news media is left to fill the void. The second Trump administration has taken a chainsaw to the agency as a whole in an attempt to shutter it completely," the lawsuit stated, according to Fox News.
The USAGM was just another in a target-rich environment of wasteful government programs. As one of Trump's first orders of business, he created the Department of Government Efficiency to trim the fat across the board.
Besides the waste, the administration believed the news organization served as a mouthpiece against Trump, backed by taxpayer dollars. "Voice of America has been out of step with America for years," a senior White House official said.
"It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now," the official added. The Associated Press noted that the VOA was established to counter enemy propaganda during World War II and has long been lauded as a necessary entity.
While it's true that it is created through statute for an important purpose years ago, it does not diminish the fact that it has a liberal bent today. Even without that fact, there is a glut of news outlets that already exist that will further the interests of the U.S.
This move by the judge is another way to thwart the Trump agenda and its effort to cut government spending. However, the checks and balances afforded by the courts are an essential part of keeping the government balanced, and sometimes that means stopping the president from fulfilling his agenda.
