Federal Judge Blocks Kari Lake from Firing VOA President, Ensures Taxpayers Keep Paying Him Six Figures to Do Nothing
Kari Lake’s effort to fire Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz has been blocked by a federal judge.
Lake has been trying to oust Abramowitz as she reduces the staff of the agency, but Abramowitz has fought back, saying the only way to fire him is to go through an advisory board that requires Senate confirmation, according to The Washington Post. He has been on paid leave since March.
President Donald Trump removed everyone on the board in January. Replacements are not yet in place.
Trump chose Lake to oversee the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which includes VOA, but she is currently overseeing the agencies in an interim role.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, upheld Abramowitz’s position.
“To the extent the Board’s current lack of quorum institutes a practical barrier to removing Abramowitz, the Broadcast Act gives the President a straightforward remedy: replacing the removed members,” Lamberth wrote, according to CNN.
Abramowitz made approximately $380,000 in 2024, according to ProPublica.
Lake said she will not take the ruling lying down, The Washington Post reported.
“We fully intend to appeal this absurd ruling,” she said in a statement.
“Elections have consequences, and President Trump runs the executive branch. I have confidence that the Constitution will eventually be enforced, even if not by Judge Lamberth and other radical district judges.”
On Aug 1, Abramowitz was notified by John Zadrozny, a senior adviser at the USAGM, that he would be fired after not accepting a job running a North Carolina broadcasting station.
Lake has been seeking to cut the staff of VOA and its parent entity. Abramowitz has sued Lake over those efforts, with Lamberth remaining critical of her efforts to downsize the agencies.
He said her actions to cut the agencies were “verging on contempt.”
From what we’ve seen in reports dating back to 2001, Voice of America’s Mandarin service managers were meeting at the Chinese embassy in D.C. and receiving advice on how to cover Beijing.
One VOA worker actually pledged his support for the CCP at one of those meetings.
You… pic.twitter.com/4KXs6G2ZE2
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) July 24, 2025
Lake has fought back and is undeterred in her plans to reduce staff.
“Of course I’ve got a judge here in Washington, D.C. — I’ve got five cases against me as I try to scale this monster, this beast back and rightsize it,” she said.
“I mean, I’ve got a judge who’s threatening me with contempt of court, throwing me in prison, if I don’t produce more of the propaganda that he wants me to produce,” Lake added.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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