Judge temporarily halts Trump silencing of Voice of America

A US judge on Friday temporarily halted moves by President Donald Trump's administration to shutter the government-funded Voice of America (VOA) broadcasting network.

District Judge J. Paul Oetken issued a temporary restraining order in a case brought in a federal court in New York by VOA employees and their unions and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

"We're very pleased that the judge agreed to freeze any further action by the government to dismantle Voice of America," Clayton Weimers, the executive director of RSF USA, said.

"We urge the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for VOA immediately and reinstate its employees without further delay," Weimers added.

The Trump administration began mass layoffs at VOA and other US-funded media this month as part of its plans to dramatically slash the federal government budget and workforce.

President Donald Trump has cut off Congress-approved funding to VOA's parent, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of his sweeping cuts.

Also targeted are Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, formed in the Cold War to reach the former Soviet bloc, and Radio Free Asia, established to provide reporting to China, North Korea and other Asian countries with heavily restricted media.

A different judge has already granted a temporary restraining order against USAGM after Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty challenged the decision to withhold its $77-million 2025 budget.

Voice of America, created during World War II, broadcasts around the world in 49 languages with a mission to reach countries without media freedom.

Moscow and Beijing have welcomed the decision to silence the US-backed outlets, seen for decades as pillars of American soft power influence.

US formalizes plans to shutter USAID

US President Donald Trump's administration announced plans Friday to effectively close the US international development agency USAID, formalizing widely-criticized plans to dramatically cut foreign aid spending.

"Today, the Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have notified Congress on their intent to undertake a reorganization that would involve realigning certain USAID functions to the Department by July 1, 2025," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

The State Department, he said, also plans on "discontinuing the remaining USAID functions that do not align with Administration priorities."

"Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago," he said. "As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high."

After taking office in January, Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing US foreign aid for 90 days.

Dramatic cuts to various USAID programs followed, with some exemptions granted for vital humanitarian aid.

The aid freeze has caused shock and dismay at the independent agency created by an act of the US Congress in 1961.

Senate Democrats on the Committee on Foreign Relations denounced the move, saying in a statement that the reorganization "will not only render it impossible for any retained USAID programs to be implemented, but the burden placed on the State Department will cause significant disruption to its core mission."

"This proposal is illegal, dangerous and inefficient," they added.

Prior to its closure, the agency managed an annual budget of close to $43 billion, accounting for more than 40 percent of the world's humanitarian aid. Most of its staff were placed on administrative leave shortly after Trump took office.

USAID staff were informed in a memo on Friday of plans to eliminate all jobs not required by law, according to multiple US media organizations.

In the memo, Jeremy Lewin, the acting head of the independent agency, reportedly said the State Department also planned to retire most of USAID's independent operations in the coming months.