Judge Halts Trump Administration’s Move to Cut Funding for Radio Free Europe
A court has issued a restraining order against officials from the Trump administration.
On March 25, a federal judge intervened to prevent the Trump administration from cancelling funding assigned to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a nonprofit news organization that receives support from the U.S. government’s United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
The judge highlighted that the termination letter to Radio Free Europe merely claimed that the award “no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
“This vague statement, lacking any factual support or justification, does not constitute a ‘satisfactory explanation’ and fails to provide a ‘rational connection between the facts found and the choices made,’” the judge remarked, citing previous legal rulings regarding the conduct of agencies during policy actions.
According to the ruling, Radio Free Europe demonstrated that it would likely face irreparable harm without a restraining order and that granting such an order aligns with public interest.
Lamberth ordered that Kari Lake, the acting CEO of the USAGM, and the agency, must refrain from taking any actions to terminate Radio Free Europe’s grant.
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This statute and others obligate the U.S. media agency to report financials to Congress, and the court must consider the implications of the grant’s cancellation, as noted in the order.
Government attorneys argued that the issue pertains to a contract and should only be resolved at the Court of Federal Claims. They further noted that although Congress provides funding for grants to Radio Free Europe, there is no specific mandated amount allocated for the organization within the appropriations.
This amount covered work completed from March 1 to March 14.
As the funds are already in the process of being disbursed, Lamberth noted that part of the motion has become moot.
