Dem
47
GOP
53
Who says Donald Trump never shows loyalty to anyone? Kari Lake worships at his feet, so after she lost her Senate run in Arizona, he gave her a consolation prize: running the Voice of America, so she could sing his praises all over the world. Then, in typical Trumpian fashion, he stabbed her in the back by eliminating the Voice of America.
Several VOA workers sued. Since the VOA was created by law, only Congress can terminate it by repealing the law. Now U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in D.C., a Ronald Reagan appointee, has ordered the funding restored and the workers to return to their jobs. Among other things, Lamberth ruled that Trump acted "without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world. It is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions than the Defendants' actions here." The term "arbitrary and capricious" has a very specific meaning in law and a finding that Trump's action met that standard will be important in the inevitable appeal.
The ruling was broader than only VOA. The U.S. government operates other stations as well, including Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, which broadcast news and American culture in 48 languages around the world, along with American music. The focus is on countries where there is heavy government censorship of the news. It is incredibly stupid that Trump canceled them all, especially since Lake was fully prepared to praise Trump to the moon on VOA. What's the downside here? The VOA costs about $270 million/year, a drop in the federal bucket, so getting rid of it does next to nothing about reducing the deficit. (V)