Judge blocks Kari Lake from firing VOA director

Judge RLRoyce Lamberth blocked Kari Lake from firing Voice of America director MAMichael Abramowitz on Aug. 28, 2025. The scheduled termination was Aug. 31. Lake needs advisory board approval, but Trump fired all six members in Jan. 2025.

Trump eliminated the International Broadcasting Advisory Board in Jan. 2025, leaving only Marco Rubio as the sole member. No majority vote is possible, so no legal firing can occur. Lake tried anyway until Lamberth stopped her.

Lake placed VOA's entire 1,300-person workforce on paid administrative leave in Mar. 2025 and announced plans to reduce staff to just 81 workers. She slashed programming from 49 languages to 4 (Persian, Mandarin, Dari, Pashto).

Judge Lamberth accused Lake of verging on contempt of court on Aug. 26, 2025 for hiding information about her VOA demolition plans. The Reagan appointee judge overruled the Trump administration on constitutional grounds.

Abramowitz rejected reassignment on Jul. 8, 2025 to run a 🌲North Carolina shortwave facility with minimal staff. Senior Advisor to USAGM John Zadrozny fired him Aug. 1, 2025 for refusing the demotion.

Congress allocated hundreds of millions for VOA operations including Korean language programming mandated by law. Lake's cuts violated congressional appropriations requirements.

Lake sent layoff notices to 532 remaining VOA employees in Aug. 2025. Judge Lamberth blocked these layoffs on Sep. 29, 2025, warning Lake risked contempt charges for failing to restore operations.

VOA broadcasts to 360 million people weekly in 49 languages, serving populations under authoritarian regimes without free press access. Lake's cuts handed these audiences to Chinese and Russian state propaganda.