Appeals court blocks order to return Voice of America employees to work, restore grants

A federal appeals court on Saturday halted an order that would have required the Trump administration to bring back more than 1,000 Voice of America employees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

In a 2-1 decision ruling, the appeals court said the U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth did not have the jurisdiction to require the administration to bring the employees back to work or to restore $15 million in grants for Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, according to Reuters. 

On April 22, Lamberth ruled that the administration would have to "take all necessary steps" to restore VOA employees and contractors.