Overview

• U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Trump administration to reinstate Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Network operations and funding.
• The court found the administration's abrupt shutdown of these outlets violated congressional appropriations laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, deeming the actions arbitrary and capricious.
• The judge emphasized that the silencing of VOA for the first time in its 80-year history deprived millions worldwide of reliable news in regions lacking press freedom.
• The ruling does not apply to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty or the Open Technology Fund, which are involved in separate ongoing litigation over their funding and operations.
• The Trump administration had argued that VOA promoted biased, anti-American content, a claim rejected by plaintiffs who underscored the network's statutory mandate to provide impartial and objective journalism.