US Appeals Court Blocks Voice of America Employee Reinstatement

A U.S. federal appeals court has blocked a lower court's order requiring the reinstatement of over 1,000 Voice of America (VOA) employees and the restoration of $15 million in grants for Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. The court's 2-1 decision suggested the lower court lacked jurisdiction to mandate the return of staff and funding, though it did not challenge the requirement for VOA to maintain its congressionally mandated programming levels. The U.S. Agency for Global Media had placed the employees on leave and halted broadcasts in March following a directive from former President Trump, marking the first time in VOA's 80-year history its news service was inactive. Dissenting Judge Cornelia Pillard warned the ruling could lead to the permanent silencing of VOA and cripple the other networks' ability to contest the shutdown. Congress had previously mandated VOA broadcasts, prohibiting unilateral executive action to terminate or defund them. VOA is reportedly preparing to resume some broadcasts, though the agency has not commented.