An appeals court panel granted a stay on Tuesday for a federal judge’s order that would have required the Trump administration to bring hundreds of Voice of America employees back to work. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit suspended the order while the government pursued its appeal of the lower-court decision, which means more than 1,000 Voice of America employees would remain on paid administrative leave during the review.
The March 17 ruling came from U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who ordered the administration to restore the operations of the government-run broadcaster after it had effectively been shut down about a year earlier. In issuing the stay, the appeals court put the enforcement of that directive on hold as the case moved forward.
The appeals court’s action came in a panel decision and was issued while the government’s appeal was pending. The court said the process of weighing the case could take months, extending the period in which the staff would remain away from their normal work schedules.
The appeal is being heard by Circuit Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Robert Wilkins and Gregory Katsas, according to the panel assigned to the case. The judges’ backgrounds include nominations during different presidential administrations: Henderson was nominated by Republican President George H.W. Bush, Wilkins by Democratic President Barack Obama, and Katsas by President Donald Trump, a Republican.
The court filing describes Voice of America as a longstanding U.S.-run international broadcaster that has aired news reports to countries around the world since its formation during World War II. It said that before the Trump administration’s executive order, Voice of America operated in 49 different languages and broadcast to 362 million people.
The appeals court decision also sits alongside earlier litigation over the legal authority associated with Voice of America leadership. In related proceedings, Lamberth ruled that Kari Lake—Trump’s choice to lead Voice of America—did not have the legal authority to carry out actions she took at the agency.