Radio Free Europe Funding Restored as Trump Administration Sidesteps Lawsuit, but Voice of America Remains Silent

In a significant victory for the outlets, the Trump administration on Wednesday ordered that funding for Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty be restored, sidestepping the lawsuit filed by both outlets that the administration looked likely to lose.

The order also restored funding to the Open Technology Fund, but Voice of America and Radio Free Asia remain off air.

Arizona Republican Kari Lake, the Trump-appointed ‘Special Adviser’ to USAGM, issued the order to restore funding on Wednesday night. But it did not become public until Thursday morning, when Justice Department lawyers informed presiding U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in a court filing.

In the filing, DoJ asked that the lawsuit be tossed because, “now that Plaintiff has received that relief, Defendants’ position is that this matter is now moot.” Lamberth will hold a hearing on Monday if the agreement to restore funding is not upheld.

“This is an encouraging sign that RFE/RL’s operations will be able to continue, as Congress intended. We await official confirmation from USAGM that grant funding will promptly resume based on the intention expressed in last night’s letter. We are eager to speak directly with USAGM leadership about the extraordinary and cost-effective work that RFE/RL performs for the American people,” Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement.

“This is not the time for RFE/RL to go silent. Millions of people rely on us for factual information in places where censorship is widespread. We must not cede ground to our adversaries at a time when threats to America are on the rise,” he added.

RFE and RL, alongside Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and the Open Technology fund were taken down on March 14 when the Trump administration announced plans to gut U.S. Agency for Global media, the organization that oversees them.

Several Voice of America staffers filed a lawsuit on March 21, asking the courts to rule that the Trump administration had acted illegally and unconstitutionally. VoA Director Michael Abramowitz filed a similar lawsuit on Wednesday.

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