Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled Kari Lake's tenure as acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) from July to November 2025 unlawful, invalidating actions like mass layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and affiliates. The decision, invoking the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and prior Trump administration losses, rebukes temporary appointment practices.
Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Ronald Reagan appointee, ruled over the March 8-9, 2026 weekend that Kari Lake lacked authority to serve as acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), voiding all her actions from July 31 to November 19, 2025. This includes a major reduction-in-force on August 29 affecting hundreds at VOA and other outlets, as well as firings, contractor dismissals, content deals with One America News Network, funding cuts to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, and a canceled headquarters lease.
The lawsuit, led by former VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara and others including Jessica Jerreat and Kate Neeper, challenged Lake's authority amid President Trump's second-term push to restructure USAGM entities. Lake became a senior adviser in late February 2025 after Trump dismissed the oversight board, with acting CEO Victor Morales delegating duties in March. She began using the acting CEO title July 31 without formal White House documentation, handling ~95% of CEO responsibilities until ceasing the title mid-November 2025 amid challenges, though she signed documents as such into early 2026.
Lamberth held that Lake was ineligible under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) as she was not the first assistant when the vacancy arose after Morales. He rejected arguments that strict enforcement would disrupt operations, writing: "Because Lake was not first assistant at the time of the vacancy, she lacks authority to serve as the acting CEO." The judge drew parallels to DOJ losses, including John Sarcone's invalid acting U.S. attorney subpoenas and Alina Habba's non-compliant interim U.S. attorney role in New Jersey. "Allowing the President to circumvent Congress's carefully crafted limitations... would make a vestigial surplusage of the statute and the advice-and-consent requirement," Lamberth added, also noting Lake "satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution."
The ruling aids fired employees, dubbed 'Bloody Saturday' by former acting CEO Grant Turner, and bolsters VOA—a World War II-era broadcaster in formerly 49 languages, reduced to six under Lake amid accusations of pro-Trump bias. Lake called Lamberth an "activist judge" obstructing Trump's bureaucracy cuts and plans to appeal. Plaintiffs welcomed "renewed hope... to restoring VOA's global operations and ensuring we continue to produce journalism, not propaganda." Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward hailed it as "a win in the fight against autocracy" and rule-of-law affirmation.
