Judge orders Trump administration to restore $12 million for pro-democracy Radio Free Europe

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore $12 million that Congress appropriated for Radio Free Europe, a pro-democracy media outlet at risk of going dark for the first time in 75 years.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth granted the temporary restraining order for the U.S. Agency for Global Media to disburse money for April 2025 for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty pending the outcome of a lawsuit seeking to keep the station on the air.

Lamberth, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, found that the administration could not unilaterally revoke funding approved by by Congress.