Trump Officials Move to Fire Most Voice of America Journalists

The Trump administration on Friday moved to lay off nearly all of the remaining staff at Voice of America, setting up a potential battle with a federal judge who had blocked attempts to restructure the federally funded news network.

Kari Lake, a fierce Trump ally and the acting chief executive of Voice of America’s oversight agency, announced on social media that the agency sent layoff notices to 532 employees. About 100 journalists and other staff members remained employed. Ms. Lake had to rescind a previous effort in June to layoff workers.

Trump officials first started shuttering government funded newsrooms in March, following the president’s orders. Ms. Lake said on Friday that the latest layoffs would allow these organizations to focus on getting news to people living under Communist governments and dictators.

But Paula Hickey, the president of the union that represents Voice of America employees, called the layoffs illegal and said that “the manner in which they are being executed reveals the contempt this administration has for federal employees and the rule of law.”