D.C. Circuit Rules Kari Lake Illegally Fired VOA Director Michael Abramowitz, Upholds Injunction
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously on Nov. 10 that leaders of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) broke the law when they removed Voice of America (VOA) Director Michael Abramowitz. A three-judge panel affirmed a permanent injunction holding that the VOA director may not be removed without the approval of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board.
Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote the opinion, joined by Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Florence Pan. The panel affirmed the Aug. 28, 2025 ruling of U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who had barred USAGM from removing Abramowitz without Board approval. The government appealed in Abramowitz v. Lake, No. 25-5314.
At the center of the case is 22 U.S.C. § 6205(e). After a wave of firings at the agency in 2020, Congress amended the law so that the heads of the U.S.-funded broadcasters, including VOA, may be appointed or removed only with the majority approval of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, an independent body whose members are confirmed by the Senate. "The leaders of the Agency for Global Media ignored that statute when they attempted unilaterally to fire Michael Abramowitz, the head of Voice of America," the opinion states. The government conceded on appeal that the removal violated the statute because the Board never approved it, but argued that the restriction infringed the president's removal power.
The panel rejected that argument. The VOA director is an inferior officer, the court held, and Congress may vest authority to appoint and remove inferior officers in a department head, a status the Broadcasting Board holds. Because Board members serve at the president's pleasure, the president retains ultimate control over the directorship. The court also held that Abramowitz was not required to pursue his claim through the Civil Service Reform Act's administrative process, and that the district court had jurisdiction to enforce the statute directly. The statutory safeguard, the opinion added, is "not a standard employment law, but a durable barrier against any breach of the firewall protecting the journalistic integrity of Voice of America and the affiliate networks."
Abramowitz was appointed VOA director in April 2024 with the Board's unanimous approval. After returning to the White House in early 2025, President Trump removed six of the Board's seven members, and the Board has lacked a quorum to vote since January 2025; its remaining seat belongs ex officio to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following a March 14, 2025 executive order directing USAGM to shrink to the legal minimum, Acting CEO Victor Morales and Kari Lake, then senior adviser to the acting CEO, placed Abramowitz and about 1,300 VOA employees on indefinite administrative leave. In July 2025 the agency notified Abramowitz that he would be reassigned to a chief management officer post at its transmitting station in Greenville, North Carolina; after he refused, officials notified him on Aug. 1, 2025 that he was removed.
"I am gratified by this result and look forward to getting back to the important work Voice of America does worldwide on behalf of the American people," Abramowitz said in a statement after the ruling, adding that there is no longer any reason for the government to prevent him from doing the job to which he was legally installed on a bipartisan basis more than two years ago. USAGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government may next seek rehearing by the full D.C. Circuit or review by the U.S. Supreme Court; no decision had been announced as of Nov. 11. The injunction decides only the director's removal, and Abramowitz remains on administrative leave, while the broader legal fight over the future of USAGM and Voice of America continues in other cases.
(Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit)
Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的美国之音总部入口铭牌。照片：G. Edward Johnson（CC BY 4.0），经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Voice of America headquarters entrance sign in Washington, D.C. (G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)
