The Trump administration is facing intensified legal scrutiny after the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America (VOA) and other state-funded broadcasters, announced it is cutting over 500 government jobs.

The decision, confirmed by USAGM’s acting CEO Kari Lake, comes amid ongoing court battles over the legality of the administration’s actions concerning VOA’s leadership and structure.

Lake revealed late Friday that 532 government employees will be laid off in a new reduction-in-force (RIF) plan. This includes 486 VOA staff and 46 employees from other branches of the agency. The announcement came just a day after a federal judge barred the administration from removing VOA Director Michael Abramowitz without approval from the International Broadcasting Advisory Board.

Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, ruled the attempted dismissal of Abramowitz as “plainly contrary to law” and rebuked the administration for repeatedly failing to comply with court orders. On Monday, Lamberth gave the agency a final opportunity to show it is upholding the court’s rulings, ordering Lake to testify under oath by mid-September.

Lake defended the cuts on social media, claiming they would help the agency “fulfill its statutory mission” and even improve operations. “I look forward to taking additional steps in the coming months to improve the functioning of a very broken agency,” she said, asserting that the reductions are aimed at ensuring “America’s voice is heard abroad.”

Employees 'blindsided'

However, employees affected by the layoffs say they were blindsided by the decision and see it as part of a broader effort to dismantle VOA. “We find Lake’s continued attacks on our agency abhorrent,” read a statement from employees suing to block the RIF. “We are looking forward to her deposition to hear whether her plan to dismantle VOA was done with the rigorous review process that Congress requires.”

Layoff notices had previously been sent to over 600 employees in June. Abramowitz, along with most of the VOA staff, was placed on administrative leave and told he would be dismissed by August 31. At the time of the latest court filing, VOA retained only 86 active employees while 512 were on administrative leave. USAGM had 137 active employees and 62 on leave.

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The agency also oversees outlets like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Martí, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, which collectively reach over 400 million people worldwide. These organizations, which originated during the Cold War, are intended to promote US propaganda.

Abramowitz described the administration’s actions as a “self-inflicted blow” to US national security. “If America pulls off the playing field and cedes it to our adversaries, they’re going to be telling the narratives that people around the world are going to be hearing,” he said in March.

The administration has also moved to revoke union protections from select federal employees, including those at VOA, prompting further legal challenges. 

Trump administration fires hundreds

VOA has been repeatedly accused by officials in countries where it operates of conducting soft power operations or acting as a regime-change arm of the US.

A New York Times report argued that the mass firing signals a continued effort by the administration to dismantle the broadcaster, despite a federal court ruling in April requiring the preservation of its news programming.

It is worth noting that US President Donald Trump has previously called VOA “the voice of radical America.”