Trump Nominates Sarah Rogers to Lead USAGM After Court Ruling

President Donald Trump nominated Sarah Rogers, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media on Thursday, following a federal judge's ruling that invalidated the actions of the agency's previous acting chief. The nomination comes one week after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth declared Kari Lake's appointment as acting CEO unlawful, nullifying her decisions, including a planned layoff of approximately 500 employees announced in late 2025.

The U.S. Agency for Global Media oversees federally funded international broadcasters such as Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which transmit news and information in 64 languages to audiences in countries with limited press freedoms. These outlets reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide and are intended to promote U.S. interests through objective journalism.

Lake, a Trump appointee who served as a senior adviser to the agency, had implemented sweeping staff reductions and operational changes aimed at restructuring the organization. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including Voice of America journalists and a federal employees' union, argued that her role...