In a significant legal victory for the Trump administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has granted a stay on a lower court's order that had mandated the reinstatement of over 1,000 Voice of America (VOA) employees and the resumption of full broadcasting operations.

"This is a huge victory for President Trump and his Article II powers granted in the United States Constitution. It's also a victory for US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and VOA," Kari Lake, a USAGM senior advisor to the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital following the court's decision Saturday.

The decision allows the administration to proceed with its efforts to restructure USAGM and its affiliated broadcasters.

"We are eager to accomplish President Trump's America First agenda which has always been to modernize and make our government efficient while cutting waste, fraud, and abuse," Lake said. 

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"Now that we have a favorable ruling in the appeals court, we look forward to accomplishing the plan we've always had; to bring VOA into the 21st century."

The appeals court's 2-1 ruling Saturday emphasized the judiciary's deference to executive authority in matters concerning federal employment and contractual decisions.

The court noted that the district court likely lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the administration's personnel actions and funding decisions, particularly regarding grant agreements with non-federal entities like Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

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This follows Trump's March 14 executive order (EO), which aimed to dismantle USAGM operations. 

"Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now," a senior White House official told Fox News Digital at the time. 

The order led to the administrative leave of approximately 1,300 VOA employees and the termination of numerous contracts, effectively pausing the broadcaster's activities for the first time in its 83-year history.

"Unfortunately, the frivolous litigation actually stalled the ability to streamline archaic practices and redundant programs at VOA," Lake said. "The use of lawfare hurt the agency and its employees more than it helped."

Fox News contributor, legal analyst and constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley also shared news of the ruling on X, posting, "The D.C. Circuit just issued a major ruling in favor of the Trump Administration that lifted a stay on the Administration's decision to terminate contracts and positions at Voice of America."

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Saturday's decision came as VOA employees reportedly had access restored to their computers on Friday after federal Judge Royce Lamberth's April 22 ruling in favor of the plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction against Trump's EO, which the administration promptly appealed.

The court's ruling can be read here.

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked the shutdown of a U.S.-funded radio network. 

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, granted a temporary restraining order on the shutdown of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a non-profit news organization originally founded in the 1950s by the Central Intelligence Agency to broadcast behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. 

Congress later began funding RFE/RL in the 1970s to promote democracy across the globe. 

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The judge found Kari Lake, the longtime Arizona broadcaster and unsuccessful gubernatorial and Senate candidate tapped to oversee the U.S. Agency for Global Media, likely violated federal law in moving to slash RFE/RFL's funding in line with President Donald Trump's agenda to eliminate government waste. 

The U.S. Agency for Global Media houses Radio Free Europe and Asia, as well as Voice of America and Radio Marti in Cuba. 

"RFE/RL has, for decades, operated as one of the organizations that Congress has statutorily designated to carry out this policy," Lamberth wrote. "The leadership of USAGM cannot, with one sentence of reasoning offering virtually no explanation, force RFE/RL to shut down—even if the President has told them to do so."

Trump signed an executive order earlier this month aimed at dismantling U.S.-funded media organizations. A senior White House official told Fox News Digital at the time that Voice of America "has been out of step with America for years."

"It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now," the official said. 

The executive order, which targets seven offices, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said "non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law." 

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RFE/RFL sued in federal court, saying that the administration immediately froze nearly $7.5 million in funding already appropriated by Congress. The Justice Department wrote in court documents on Monday that the disbursement was underway and proof of payment would come by Wednesday. 

Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz wrote on X that "virtually" the whole 1300-person staff was placed on leave. 

In a court hearing Monday, Justice Department lawyer Abby Stout argued that RFE/RL has no grounds for a restraining order given the U.S. government would disburse the nearly $7.5 million. The plaintiff's lawyer, Thomas Brugato, said the disbursement was only a temporary fix and the non-profit could expect widespread layoffs and to close by April if funding doesn't continue.

"It’s really a Band-Aid," Brugato said in court, according to The Hill. 

In his order, Lamberth said RFE/RL "was originally conceived of in the 1950s as a vehicle for providing trustworthy, locally relevant news to audiences subject to communist propaganda." 

"Since its inception, RFE/RL has continued to expand, responding to threats to democracy and media freedom across the globe," the judge wrote, later concluding, "The Court concludes, in keeping with Congress’s longstanding determination, that the continued operation of RFE/RL is in the public interest."

Separately, a lawsuit was brought Friday by Voice of America reporters, Reporters Without Borders and a handful of unions in U.S. District Court in New York against the U.S. Agency for Global Media and Kari Lake over efforts to shut them down. 

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated a few more candidates on Wednesday night to serve in various positions during his second term.

He tapped Kari Lake as the next director of the Voice of America, a state-funded U.S. government broadcaster. Lake was a longtime Arizona broadcaster who ran unsuccessfully for public office in 2022 and 2024.

"I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America. She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media," Trump wrote in a release.

Voice of America is an influential broadcast channel that serves news, information, and cultural programming through the Internet, mobile and social media, radio, and television. The broadcaster serves in over 40 languages.

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Trump also named Dr. Peter Lamelas, a physician, philanthropist, and businessman, as the next U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. Lamelas immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba and founded MD Now Urgent Care in Florida, the state's largest urgent care system.

"As a child, Peter and his family fled communist Cuba and LEGALLY immigrated to the USA, starting with nothing, and achieving the American Dream," Trump wrote in the announcement on Truth Social.

Lamelas was previously appointed to the Department of Justice's Medal of Valor Review Board during Trump's first term and has served as a town commissioner in Manalapan, Florida, and on the state's Board of Medicine.

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Also on Wednesday evening, Trump announced Daniel Newlin, a law enforcement veteran, as the next U.S. Ambassador to Colombia. In addition to a 28-year career with the Orange County (Florida) Sheriff's Office where he worked as a fugitive detective, Newlin is also a business executive and entrepreneur.

"With his Law Enforcement expertise enabling him to navigate complex international issues, and his business insights fostering economic partnerships, Newlin stands as a powerful advocate for U.S. interests, and a Champion for strengthening ties, and making a difference in the World," Trump wrote.

The picks announced Wednesday night are the latest in a long string of nominations the president-elect hopes the Senate will approve.

President-elect Trump tapped Kari Lake as the next director of the Voice of America, a state-funded U.S. government broadcaster.

"I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America. She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media," Trump wrote in a release on Wednesday night.

Lake was a longtime Arizona broadcaster who ran unsuccessfully for public office in 2022 and 2024. 

Voice of America is an influential broadcast channel that serves news, information, and cultural programming through the Internet, mobile and social media, radio, and television. 

The broadcaster serves in over 40 languages.