Kari Lake’s Term as Global Media Agency Acting CEO Ruled Illegal

Politician and former TV news anchor Kari Lake illegally served as head of the US Agency for Global Media while overseeing the agency’s dismantling, a federal judge ruled, voiding those efforts.

“Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution,” Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said March 7. The “expansive delegations” of authorities to Lake were an unlawful attempt to transform her into the CEO of the agency—a position requiring Senate approval—violating the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, he said.

Any action Lake took during her stint as acting CEO between July 31 and Nov. 19 of last year or while she was otherwise delegated CEO authorities “are void,” Lamberth held. That includes the layoffs of hundreds of USAGM and Voice of America staff.

USAGM acting CEO Victor Morales in March and July 2025 delegated his authorities to Lake, who was deputy CEO. During that time Lake “had de facto control of the agency,” Lamberth wrote.

Lake led the implementation of executive orders President Donald Trump signed last March, which directed that all USAGM functions be reduced to the maximum extent consistent with the law.

Lake oversaw the drawdown of USAGM’s broadcasting operations and made decisions related to grants and congressionally appropriated funds. She also reinstated a deferred resignation program offer to USAGM employees in February, which gave them a March 9 deadline to decide whether they wanted to resign and continue receiving pay until Sept. 5, the order said.

Lake also became acting CEO from July 31 until Nov. 19, after which she returned to the role of deputy CEO, the order said.

The FVRA provides specific avenues for a government official to occupy a vacant office in an acting capacity without Senate confirmation. First assistants automatically assume responsibilities upon vacancy, or the president can direct specific officers to perform the functions of the vacant position. But the law limits the pool to individuals who already were confirmed by the Senate to another office, or those with recent expertise within the agency.

Lake wasn’t a first assistant at the time the USAGM vacancy opened up, so the statute didn’t authorize her to serve as acting CEO, Lamberth said. Reading the statute otherwise effectively would allow the president to appoint anyone as a first assistant to then carry out the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, the judge said.

The FVRA’s anti-delegation provisions also prevent Lake from exercising CEO authorities that Morales delegated to her, Lamberth said.

Although Lake argued the Smith-Mundt Act allows the USAGM CEO to delegate their powers to another government officer, “the provision she cites says not one word about delegation by the CEO” and only provides that authority to the secretary of state, the judge said.

Government Accountability Project, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, Democracy Forward Foundation, and others represent the plaintiffs.

The case is Widakuswara v. Lake, 2026 BL 77164, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-01015, 3/7/26.