US judge temporarily halts dismantling of Voice of America
A U.S. judge on March 28 halted the Trump administration's efforts to shut down Voice of America (VoA), temporarily preventing the firing of some 1,300 employees placed on leave earlier this month.
District Judge J. Paul Oetken granted a temporary restraining order following a lawsuit filed by VoA staff, unions, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) last week.
The ruling presents yet another obstacle to U.S. President Donald Trump's planned dismantling of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VoA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and Radio Free Asia.
Oetken said that the administration "failed to provide adequate reasoning behind the sweeping changes to USAGM and seemingly failed to consider any reliance issues in effectively closing the agency."
VoA is a government-funded media founded in 1942, broadcasting in almost 50 languages around the world.
"We're very pleased that the judge agreed to freeze any further action by the government to dismantle Voice of America," said Clayton Weimers, the executive director of RSF USA, in a statement.
"The fight to save VOA — and, indeed, the free press — continues as the Trump administration works to deprive the world of a reliable source of information."
Earlier this week, USAGM reversed its decision to terminate grant funding for RFE/RL after a district court ruled the funding freeze was unlawful.
Kateryna Denisova
