The Trump administration must pay the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) media corporation $12 million that Congress has already approved, according to a ruling by federal judge Royce Lamberth, AP reports.
The judge ruled that the administration cannot unilaterally cancel funding approved by Congress. The court order provides temporary injunctions to ensure that the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) pays RFE/RL the funds as early as April.
According to the media corporation’s lawyers, the Trump administration has terminated most of the contracts with freelance journalists, missed rent payments, and laid off 122 employees. If the funding is not restored, more layoffs and contract cancellations were planned starting May 1.
Federal lawyers argued that the case should be heard in the Court of Federal Claims, but Lamberth ruled otherwise.
Radio Liberty must receive another $77 million from the U.S. government by October 2025, also provided by Congress.
Radio Liberty is an independent media corporation founded in 1953. It is funded through USAGM, the U.S. government agency.
After Trump returned to the White House, he signed an executive order cutting the activities of seven government agencies, including USAGM, which oversees Radio Liberty. In March, a notice was received to terminate the grant to finance the media company, but the decision was later withdrawn.
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