# Voice of America **Voice of America** is the United States government's international broadcaster, founded in 1942 and funded by congressional appropriation. It operates under the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which also oversees Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. A statutory "firewall" is intended to insulate its journalism from editorial direction by U.S. officials. In March 2025 nearly the entire VOA workforce was placed on paid administrative leave and its broadcasts largely ceased, as part of a broader effort to wind down USAGM. On **March 17, 2026** Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held the dismantlement unlawful and arbitrary and capricious, ordering **1,042 employees** back to work as of March 23. An appeals panel **stayed that order on March 31, 2026** pending the government's appeal. As of August 2026 it remains the clearest test of whether a congressionally funded agency can be shut down by administrative action alone. See [[How a Federal Agency Is Dismantled]].