Judge Voids Mass Layoffs at Voice of America

The ruling, which said that Kari Lake’s appointment to oversee V.O.A.’s parent agency was invalid, was a major rejection of President Trump’s attempts to dismantle the government-funded news group.

A federal judge on Saturday ruled that the appointment of Kari Lake, the head of Voice of America’s oversight agency, was invalid, voiding mass layoffs that she had carried out at the federally funded news group last year.

The decision from Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was a major rejection of President Trump’s attempts to dismantle the storied government-funded news group, which was founded to combat Nazi propaganda.

If upheld by higher courts, Judge Lamberth’s ruling would allow more than 1,000 journalists and support staff members at the news group to return to their jobs. Ms. Lake, who had been leading the U.S. Agency for Global Media, V.O.A.’s parent agency, said that she would appeal the decision.