A federal judge ruled Saturday that Kari Lake illegally ran the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for several months last year and overturned mass layoffs and other actions taken during that period to dismantle the agency.
The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is an independent federal agency that oversees the Voice of America (VOA), the United States’ oldest and largest international broadcaster, and provides grants to Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe, and other news agencies.
The Trump administration moved to defund the agency in early 2025 and appointed Lake to oversee it, but he did not receive Senate confirmation for his role. Despite efforts to defund the agency, Congress allocated $500 million more than Lake requested to fund the agency in 2026.
In her role, Lake cut contracts and more than 1,000 staff positions at the agency when she was appointed to the position on July 31 before resigning from the position on November 19.
“Only the Appointments Clause or the unique structure of the Vacancies Act can authorize service as a principal officer, and Lake does not satisfy the requirements of either the statute or the Constitution,” U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote in the ruling.
Lamberth relied on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that ruled that the appointment of Alina Habba, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, to lead the US attorney’s office in New Jersey was invalid.
“Adopting Lake’s position would require the Court to determine that the President may fill a first assistant position at any time during a vacancy in a Senate-confirmed position and then … elevate the first assistant to serve as an acting official,” Lamberth said in the ruling.
Lake said in a statement on social media: “We will appeal this outrageous ruling by an activist judge of the DC District Court.” Lake also reposted a claim that the judge fell asleep during trial arguments and responded “not surprised. Morbid obesity can cause massive problems with blood sugar.”
Lamberth was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1987.
The plaintiffs in the case, Voice of America White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, Jessica Jerreat and Kate Neeper, said they felt “vindicated and deeply grateful” for the judge’s ruling in the case.
“The judge’s ruling that Kari Lake’s actions will have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution we love,” they said in a statement. “Even as we consider what this ruling means for colleagues harmed by their actions, it brings renewed hope and momentum to the next phase of our fight: restoring VOA’s global operations and ensuring we continue to produce journalism, not propaganda.”
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