Appeals Court Rules Kari Lake Illegally Fired Voice of America Director

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Kari Lake and other Trump administration officials had unlawfully attempted to fire Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz, upholding a lower court decision that prevented his removal without the approval of an independent oversight board. The unanimous ruling dealt another legal blow to the Trump administration's attempts to dismantle the government-funded international broadcaster.

It also reinforced a crucial safeguard meant to protect VOA's leadership from political meddling. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit determined that Lake, who acted as a senior adviser to the agency's acting CEO, and other agency officials had violated federal law when they sought to remove Abramowitz in August 2025 after he refused to be reassigned to another position in Greenville, N.C.

A law enacted in 2021 stipulated that the director of VOA cannot be dismissed without the consent of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board. President Donald Trump had dismissed six of the board's seven members upon returning to office, rendering it incapable of approving Abramowitz's termination. Writing for the three-judge panel, Judge Cornelia Pillard dismissed the administration's contention that the removal restrictions were unconstitutional, describing the law as a "lasting barrier against any breach of the firewall safeguarding the journalistic integrity of Voice of America and its affiliated networks."

The ruling comes amid an ongoing legal dispute over VOA's future, which has been beset by extensive staff reductions and interruptions to its broadcasting operations since Trump ordered the agency's functions drastically scaled back in March 2025. Abramowitz and approximately 1,300 other VOA personnel were placed on indefinite administrative leave.

Tuesday's decision addressed Abramowitz's dismissal but left the broader struggle over the broadcaster's future unsettled.