Overview

• U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued the order Thursday, preventing the administration from ousting Abramowitz as VOA director.
• Lamberth held that any dismissal requires a majority vote of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board and called the planned firing "plainly contrary to law."
• The court noted the administration had already effectively sidelined Abramowitz, who was placed on leave after more than 600 layoff notices went out in June and was told he would be fired Aug. 31.
• The administration previously dismissed the advisory board, leaving it without a quorum, and the judge wrote that the statute allows the president to restore the body through appointments.
• VOA’s parent agency also oversees Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Radio Marti, and senior adviser Kari Lake told Congress the agency is "rotten to the core."