US judge temporarily blocks Trump from dismantling federally funded news networks – JURIST
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday temporarily ordered the Trump administration to reinstate employees and restore funding and programming to federally funded networks under the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). USAGM is an independent executive agency that oversees multiple networks to engage the world in “freedom and democracy,” including most prominently Voice of America (VOA).
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 14 to reduce the federal bureaucracy. As a result, USAGM placed over 1,000 employees on administrative leave, terminated contractors, and cut funding to several of the networks. After employees and other organizations sued, the court issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Trump administration to reverse its actions until the court could make a final determination on the merits of lawsuit.
The court order stated the Trump administration likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The APA prohibits the executive branch from taking actions that are “arbitrary and capricious” or violate other laws. The court found that USAGM’s terminations and blocking of federal funds were arbitrary and capricious because the agency did not provide a reasoned analysis for its actions, as required by case law. Further, according to the court, USAGM’s actions likely violated other federal laws by blocking funds that Congress appropriated to the networks and completely preventing VOA from operating as required by the International Broadcasting Act.
The networks under USAGM include Voice of America, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Network, and the Open Technology Fund. Voice of America was established during World War II to provide a free press in parts of the world under authoritarian regimes. According to a previous court decision, the networks all serve to spread US values of free speech and press around the world.
This order comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s widespread cuts to federal agencies. The Trump administration previously suggested the Voice of America was the source of “radical propaganda.” An attorney for VOA framed the order, however, as a “significant victory for press freedom.” The order does not apply to Radio Free Europe or the Open Technology Fund, which are in a different status.
