The Trump administration reversed its earlier decision on Thursday by restoring funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a federally funded news organization established to counter Soviet propaganda during the Cold War.
This decision to support RFE/RL came shortly after a federal judge in Washington temporarily blocked President Trump’s attempt to close the organization, ruling that the president cannot unilaterally dismantle a news entity created by Congress.
Additionally, the administration reinstated 33 employees at the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, a federal outlet critical of Cuba's communist government, allowing its programming to resume.
On March 15, the administration had terminated all grants for RFE/RL in a brief letter, citing an executive order aimed at eliminating the U.S. Agency for Global Media, RFE/RL's parent agency.
On Thursday, the administration claimed that the lawsuit concerning the funding was moot due to the restoration of funds, rather than continuing to defend its March 15 decision while complying with the judge’s order.
However, the administration reserved the right to terminate RFE/RL’s funding in the future if deemed appropriate, as indicated in a letter submitted to the court.
The outcome of the lawsuit remains uncertain, as RFE/RL had requested the court to declare the March 15 letter unlawful, prevent the rescission of appropriated funds, and cover its legal fees.
Furthermore, the Trump administration restored funding for the Open Technology Fund, an independent nonprofit aimed at ensuring uncensored internet access in restricted countries, according to court filings.
Founded in the 1950s as a covert operation financed by the Central Intelligence Agency, RFE/RL aimed to promote anti-communist dissent in Eastern Europe and Russia. Since the 1970s, it has been funded by Congress and operates with editorial independence, reaching 47 million people weekly in 23 countries.
Another federally funded news agency, Radio Free Asia (RFA), filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking similar relief to that of RFE/RL, having also received a letter terminating its federal grants on March 15.
Established in 1996 after the Tiananmen Square massacre, RFA publishes in 10 languages and reaches nearly 60 million people weekly across six countries, including China and North Korea. Recently, Chinese state media criticized the funding freeze for RFA and the Voice of America, labeling them as biased propaganda outlets.
RFA has been recognized for its reporting on human rights abuses and government malpractice, including the detention of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang.
While RFA and RFE/RL operate independently from the federal government, Voice of America is a federal agency with government-employed journalists. The journalists at Voice of America were placed on indefinite leave following Trump’s executive order, which is currently being challenged in court.
The letters terminating funding for RFA and RFE/RL were signed by Kari Lake, a special adviser at the federal media agency, who has been linked to efforts to restructure the agency. Her appointment raised concerns about potential interference in the editorial decisions of federally funded news organizations.
Throughout his first term, President Trump criticized media outlets under the global media agency for their editorial choices, with his appointees facing accusations of undermining journalistic integrity.