A federal judge ruled Saturday that Kari Lake was unlawfully appointed to run the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the federal agency that oversees Voice of America, concluding she was ineligible to serve as acting CEO when she was elevated to the position on July 31 without Senate confirmation.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said Lake’s tenure in the role, which lasted until Nov. 19, violated the federal Vacancies Reform Act. The judge ruled that actions taken during that period must be treated as “void,” including an Aug. 29 reduction in the agency’s workforce.
Lamberth also invalidated actions taken after former acting CEO Victor Morales delegated nearly all of his responsibilities to Lake, concluding the move was an unlawful attempt to bypass the Senate’s advice and consent authority.
Lake said in a statement that she “strongly disagrees” with the ruling and confirmed the government will appeal. “The American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government,” she said. “An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM.”
Lake also criticized Lamberth directly, saying he has a “pattern of activist rulings — and this case is no different.”
The dispute centered on the Vacancies Reform Act, which governs how agencies appoint temporary leaders while awaiting Senate-confirmed nominees. Lamberth ruled Lake did not meet the law’s requirements, rejecting her argument that she qualified as the agency’s “first assistant.”
“Because Lake was not first assistant at the time of the vacancy, she lacks authority to serve as the acting CEO,” Lamberth wrote.
