A federal judge ruled Saturday that Kari Lake was unlawfully authorized to run America Global Media, the federal agency that oversees Voice of America, and that her actions in that position were unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth concluded that Lake was not qualified to serve as USAGM’s acting CEO. On July 31, she was officially promoted to the position in an “acting capacity” without Senate confirmation. She gave up the position on Nov. 19.
Lamberth said any actions Lake took during that four-month period, including the August 29 layoff of USAGM’s workforce, must be considered “ineffective.” Lamberth also invalidated actions taken by Lake when the agency’s former acting chief executive, Victor Morales, delegated nearly all of his responsibilities to her, concluding that it was also an unlawful final action against the Senate’s advice and consent role.
“The court finds that these expanded mandates were an unlawful effort to make Lake the CEO of a U.S. global media organization, but in name only,” the judge wrote.
Lake said in a statement to POLITICO that she “strongly disagrees” with the ruling and that the government will appeal.
“The American people have given President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste and restore accountability to government,” she added. “An activist judge is trying to block these efforts by USAGM.”
Lake singled out Lamberth, saying he has a “pattern of aggressive rulings — and this case is no exception.”
Patsy Widakuswara, Kate Neeper and Jessica Jerreat, the plaintiffs in Lake’s lawsuit, said in a statement that they were “vindicated and deeply grateful.”
“The judge’s ruling that Kari Lake’s actions had no validity is a strong step toward undoing the damage she has done to this American institution we love,” they said. “Even as we grapple with what this ruling means for the colleagues who were harmed by her actions, it brings new hope and momentum to the next phase of our fight: to restore VOA’s global operations and ensure we continue to produce news, not propaganda.”
At the center of the fight is the Federal Vacancy Reform Act, which limits how agencies can appoint interim leaders while they await confirmation of permanent nominees. Lamberth concluded that Lake did not meet any of the criteria required for the acting CEO position.
Although Lake claimed that as Morales’ deputy or “first assistant,” she would be eligible to serve as acting CEO once Morales is removed from office, Lambert said that essentially negates the Senate’s role in confirming those with the power to appoint.
Lamberth relied heavily on a 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that also invalidated the appointment of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Alina Habba to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
“Adopting Lake’s position would require the court to hold that the president could fill the first assistant position at any time during a Senate-confirmed vacancy and then … promote the first assistant to an acting official,” Lamberth said. He agreed with other courts that only those who were holding deputy positions when the vacancy occurred were eligible to serve in acting positions.
“Because Lake was not first assistant at the time of the vacancy, she did not have the authority to serve as acting CEO,” Lambert wrote.
