WASHINGTON, March 18 (Bernama-dpa) -- A US judge on Tuesday again blocked the Trump administration's plan to lay off hundreds of staff at Voice of America (VOA), reported German news agency dpa.
US district judge Royce Lamberth ordered more than 1,000 VOA employees return to work by March 23. He also ordered a resumption of international broadcasting.
In his ruling, Lamberth said attempts to shut down operations of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees foreign broadcaster VOA, are illegal.
In September, Lamberth granted a temporary restraining order halting the dismissals at USAGM.
The former head of the agency, Kari Lake, appointed by US President Donald Trump at the start of his second term, had announced the layoffs in August. The cuts followed a March executive order by Trump mandating sharp reductions at the US-funded broadcaster, which produces programming in multiple languages for audiences abroad.
Founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA has long been viewed as a key tool for promoting US values abroad. While legal safeguards are meant to prevent political influence over its editorial content, Trump has repeatedly clashed with the broadcaster, accusing it during the Covid-19 pandemic of echoing Chinese propaganda.
--BERNAMA-dpa
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