A federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration in a lawsuit filed by journalists challenging mass layoffs at Voice of America, finding that Kari Lake did not have the legal authority to order the cuts at the U.S.-funded broadcaster.

U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth issued the ruling Saturday after employees terminated from Voice of America and its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, filed suit to block the layoffs. The judge determined that Lake’s position lacked the required legal authority because she had not been confirmed by the Senate.

“Only the Appointments Clause or the Vacancies Act's exclusive structure may authorize service as a principal officer, and Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution,” Lamberth wrote in the decision.

President Donald Trump nominated Lake in March 2025 to oversee the federal multimedia broadcaster as part of a broader push to reduce what the administration described as redundant government agencies and bloated bureaucracy.

The lawsuit was brought by several journalists, including Voice of America White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, along with Kate Neeper and Jessica Jerreat. In a statement following the ruling, the group said the decision validated their legal challenge.

“We feel vindicated and deeply grateful,” the journalists said. “The judge's ruling that Kari Lake's actions shall have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution.”

The layoffs have dramatically reduced the organization’s workforce. Approximately 85 percent of staff at Voice of America and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, about 1,400 employees, have been terminated since March 2025.

According to Widakuswara, the cuts have left the broadcaster with roughly 120 employees currently working, all based in Washington, D.C. She said the reductions have effectively shut down the network’s foreign bureaus.

“We don't have anyone in our foreign bureaus. We don't have anybody, basically, to cover the news,” she said.

Lake sharply criticized the ruling and indicated the administration plans to challenge it.

“The American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government,” Lake wrote on social media. “An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM.”

She added that the administration intends to appeal the decision as the legal dispute over the layoffs continues.