Federal Judge Suggests He’d Halt Dismantling of VOA

The judge said he’ll likely order the reinstatement of the outlet’s employees to full-time work.

The Voice of America building in Washington on June 15, 2020. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

A federal judge said at a March 28 hearing in New York he will probably block the Trump administration’s shutdown of Voice of America and order that the international broadcaster’s staffers and contractors be allowed to return to work.

Some 1,300 of the government-funded outlet’s journalists and other employees were placed on administrative leave with full pay on March 15 after President Donald Trump moved to defund its parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”