'Egregious conduct': Federal judge excoriates Trump admin in order pausing mass layoffs

In a scathing order, a federal judge demanded the Trump administration to pause mass layoffs at the agency that oversees Voice of America, Axios reports.

Voice of America (VOA) was expected to lose most of its staff Tuesday.

President Ronald Reagan-appointed U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's ruling halted VOA's U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) acting CEO Kari Lake from laying off 532 staffers on Tuesday, saying that the "disrespect" she and the administration showed in disregarding the previous orders "could result in contempt charges."

Lake was directed by the Trump administration to dismantle and reform VOA and its parent agency USAGM, resulting in significant staff layoffs, multiple court challenges, and a temporary suspension of the planned firings.

The former TV news anchor turned failed gubernatorial and Senate candidate canceled USAGM's 15-year lease in March, saying the agency needs to be reduced "to the bare minimum and start fresh," Axios reports.

In March, six VOA journalists sued Lake and the Trump administration for violating their First Amendment rights on free speech grounds, saying the government usurped U.S. Congress control of the power of the federal purse.

In his order, Lamberth noted that an April preliminary injunction "ordered the administration to 'restore VOA programming' to 'serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news,'" Axios reports.

Lamberth also said the court "no longer harbors any doubt that defendants lack a plan to comply with the preliminary injunction, and instead have been running out the clock on the fiscal year while remaining in violation of even the most meager reading" of the organizations' statutory obligations.

The judge also hammered Lake and the administration for complicating the court's requests in the case.

"The defendants' obfuscation of this Court's request for information regarding whether their RIF [reduction in force] plans comported with the preliminary injunction has wasted precious judicial time and resources and readily support contempt proceedings," Judge Lamberth wrote.

And though he noted that plaintiffs had not sought contempt proceedings in the case that names Lake as a defendant, the judge condemned her conduct.

"However, its deference to the plaintiffs with respect to further proceedings should not be mistaken for lenience toward the defendants' egregious erstwhile conduct," said Judge Lambert.