Federal Judge Blocks Kari Lake from Ousting Voice of America Director

Washington, D.C., August 28, 2025 - In a significant legal setback for Kari Lake, a federal judge today issued an injunction preventing her from removing Michael Abramowitz as Director of Voice of America (VOA). Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that under the terms of the Broadcast Act, Abramowitz can only be lawfully dismissed by a majority vote of VOA’s advisory board-an action Lake sought to bypass by ousting the entire board earlier this year.

Lake, serving as a senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), had placed VOA’s entire workforce on administrative leave and halted funding for all other U.S.-backed broadcasters in an effort to reshape the international broadcaster’s mission. In today’s ruling, Judge Lamberth noted that while the Trump administration ” created a practical barrier” to removing Abramowitz by dissolving the board, the law provides a remedy: appointing new advisory members to secure the necessary quorum.

Lake’s office has not yet indicated whether it will appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Abramowitz is set to be immediately reinstated, and VOA must return to its mandated role of delivering “news which is consistently reliable and authoritative, accurate, objective, and comprehensive” until any lawful removal process can be completed.