Federal Judge Orders VOA to Restore 1,042 Employees as Agency Names Newsmax Executive Christopher Wallace Deputy Director
Federal Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media to restore 1,042 full‑time Voice of America employees and nullified nearly all Trump‑era moves to shutter VOA, finding Kari Lake and other officials acted arbitrarily and capriciously in cutting language services, canceling news contracts and reassigning the VOA director. The agency then named Newsmax news director Christopher Wallace as VOA deputy director, a move critics warn could invite editorial interference given his pro‑Trump background and a deputy job posting that flagged familiarity with threats to democratic institutions, including "election fraud."
📌 Key Facts
- Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media to return 1,042 full‑time Voice of America employees who had been put on leave, requiring more than 1,000 journalists and support staff to be back by March 23; contractors were excluded from the order.
- Lamberth nullified nearly all Trump‑administration actions aimed at shuttering VOA, reversing a broad set of personnel and operational moves rather than only narrow technical changes.
- Actions reversed or blocked included canceling Reuters and AP contracts, cutting VOA’s language services from 49 to six, striking a content deal with One America News Network, and the reassignment (and planned firing) of VOA Director Michael Abramowitz.
- The judge ruled that Kari Lake’s actions were 'arbitrary and capricious,' saying she failed to consider Congress’s intent and statutory requirements that VOA maintain news operations 'in each significant region' and present 'a variety of opinions and voices,' and faulted her for 'repeatedly thumb[ing] her nose' at legal requirements.
- Lamberth said the administration’s 'bureaucracy reduction' approach had put almost all VOA staff on paid administrative leave and reduced the agency to 'skeletal operations,' leaving it unable to provide legally mandated services (cited specifically for Iran) during an ongoing war.
- The U.S. Agency for Global Media appointed Christopher Wallace, a Newsmax news director and former Fox News producer, as VOA’s deputy director; the appointment came one day after the judge’s ruling.
- VOA journalists and observers expressed concern the Wallace appointment — along with prior efforts to air Newsmax content, proposed contract language giving political appointees veto power over top editorial hires, and a deputy job posting that listed familiarity with threats to democratic institutions including 'election fraud' as a qualification — could signal an attempt by the administration to influence VOA’s editorial independence.
📊 Relevant Data
Pro-Israel political action committees contributed over $30 million to congressional candidates in the 2024 election cycle, with significant focus on influencing U.S. policy towards Israel and Iran amid ongoing conflicts.
Unprecedented Pro-Israel PAC Funding Floods 2024 Elections — Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
A 2025 nationwide poll of Iranian Americans found that 62% support a new diplomatic agreement to prevent Iran from securing nuclear weapons, while 24% oppose it, indicating strong preference for diplomacy over military action.
Nationwide Poll of Iranian Americans Shows Opposition to War, Support for Diplomacy — National Iranian American Council
VOA Persian has been accused of censoring coverage of Iran's exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi in 2026, amid concerns over editorial bias during the U.S.-Iran conflict.
VOA Persian censors coverage of Iran's exiled crown prince — The Hill
Multiple audits and court rulings on the 2020 U.S. election, including a 2025 study, confirmed an accurate vote count with no evidence of widespread fraud that could have altered the outcome.
Audits of the 2020 American election show an accurate vote count — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
During the Trump administration in 2020, the U.S. Agency for Global Media targeted Voice of America's journalistic independence by seeking political influence over coverage, including investigations into reporters' work.
📰 Source Timeline (5)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Voice of America’s parent agency has appointed Christopher Wallace, a news director at pro-Trump Newsmax and former Fox News producer, as VOA’s next deputy director, according to an internal email.
- The Wallace appointment came one day after a federal judge nullified nearly all Trump administration actions to shutter VOA and ordered more than 1,000 journalists and staff to return to work by March 23.
- VOA journalists are expressing concern that the Trump administration may seek to influence editorial coverage by installing a deputy drawn from conservative outlets and by pushing job qualifications that emphasize 'election fraud' as a threat to democratic institutions.
- The article reports prior efforts by Trump officials to air Newsmax content on VOA networks and to add contract language giving political appointees veto power over top editorial hires.
- The job posting for the deputy role explicitly listed familiarity with threats to democratic institutions, including 'election fraud,' as a key qualification, echoing Trump and Kari Lake’s false claims of widespread 2020 voter fraud.
- Judge Lamberth’s new written opinion says Kari Lake 'repeatedly thumbed her nose' at legal requirements while attempting to dismantle Voice of America.
- Lamberth quotes Lake as saying she had 'no opinion' about which countries censor and repress their people or which regions of the world are 'significant,' despite statutory requirements that VOA leadership be able to make such judgments.
- The opinion highlights that under Trump’s 'bureaucracy reduction' executive order, the administration put almost all VOA staff on paid administrative leave and reduced the agency to 'skeletal operations' before determining what minimum operations the law still required.
- Lamberth cites the ongoing Iran war to stress that current staffing levels left VOA unable to operate its legally mandated service to Iran.
- The New York Times piece emphasizes that Judge Royce C. Lamberth 'nullified nearly all actions that the Trump administration took to shutter Voice of America,' not just specific personnel or contract moves.
- It underscores that more than 1,000 full‑time journalists and support staff must return by March 23 and that contractors are excluded from the order.
- The article frames the ruling as a direct rebuke to President Trump’s efforts to shutter VOA, noting he has labeled it the 'voice of radical America,' and as a major blow to Kari Lake as the de facto head of VOA’s oversight agency.
- Lamberth’s opinion is quoted stressing that Congress directed the administration to maintain VOA news operations 'in each significant region of the world' presenting 'a variety of opinions and voices,' and that the administration 'flagrantly disregarded' those rules.
- The story highlights that the fight over VOA’s independence may now shift inside the administration, given prior attempts by Trump officials to influence editorial decisions at federally funded news outlets.
- Judge Royce C. Lamberth’s order explicitly directs the U.S. Agency for Global Media to return 1,042 full-time VOA employees who had been put on leave back to work by Monday.
- Lamberth adds a fresh legal basis for invalidating Kari Lake’s actions, ruling that she failed to consider Congress’ intent in funding the agency and the implications of effectively shutting VOA down, rendering her moves 'arbitrary and capricious.'
- The article details Lake’s specific steps to reshape VOA’s journalism, including canceling Reuters and AP contracts, cutting VOA’s language services from 49 to six, and striking a content deal with One America News Network.
- Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz’s job reassignment to a small short-wave facility in North Carolina, and planned firing for refusing that reassignment, are described as among the actions now reversed by the ruling.
- Lake has publicly labeled Lamberth an 'activist' and says she plans to appeal, but neither she nor the agency immediately responded to NPR about this specific order.