President Donald Trump nominated Sarah B. Rogers, a State Department official, as chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, amid a protracted legal battle between employees and the agency’s top official, Kari Lake.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan administration nominee, ruled Saturday that Lake has been illegally running the agency, which oversees VOA and funds international broadcasters like Radio Free Asia. The ruling also nullified months of Lake’s actions, including a mass layoff of hundreds of employees, which he had previously paused.
Lake attempted to portray herself as the agency’s CEO, despite never being nominated by Trump for the role, Lamberth wrote in an opinion.
Lake had been tasked with carrying out an executive order from Trump last March to dismantle the agency. Soon after it was issued, she cut hundreds of contractors and placed most employees on paid administrative leave — where they have remained for a year.
The judge also ordered the agency to identify a “succession plan” for the chief executive position. But in a filing Wednesday, the government was at a loss, writing that no such plan exists. On Thursday, however, Trump found an answer, formally sending Rogers’s name to the Senate for confirmation.
Rogers currently serves as the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, overseeing the department’s efforts to promote the United States and its values on the world stage.
In a statement attributed to an unidentified spokesperson, the State Department said Rogers would continue to serve in that role if confirmed as CEO of USAGM.
The agency defended a dual-hatted role, stating that USAGM has “long been closely aligned with the Department of State, and the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy has always held consultative authorities with the agency.”
Rogers had strengthened efforts to “leverage information as a strategic tool of U.S. foreign policy,” the State Department said, adding that she would be “uniquely well positioned to significantly strengthen coordination between U.S. international broadcasting and American public diplomacy” if confirmed.
Rogers is a relative newcomer to government office, having previously worked in private legal practice, where she represented the National Rifle Association and other right-wing organizations, often focusing on free speech.
Since joining the State Department in October, Rogers has continued to prioritize free speech issues. Her critics say she has focused most notably on Western European allies — particularly issues involving online speech and U.S. tech giants — rather than autocratic nations like Iran, China and Russia.
Rogers has drawn flak from European officials for meeting with members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a nationalist party that was branded as “right-wing extremist” by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
An active user of X, Rogers was also criticized last year for a post on the social media platform that referred to “imported barbarian rapist hordes” in Germany. Rogers later responded that she was making a point about what she described as the criminalization of language in the European nation.
While Rogers’s nomination is pending before the Senate, Michael Rigas — another State Department official — will serve as acting CEO of USAGM, presumably taking over the day-to-day oversight of the agency from Lake.
Rigas currently serves as deputy secretary of state for management and resources, one of the most senior positions in the department, and is largely in charge of its bureaucracy. A long-standing Trump adviser, he worked in a variety of roles in the first administration, including as acting director of the Office of Personnel Management. He also served as acting head of the U.S. General Services Administration last year.
In a post on X, Lake criticizedLamberth, called him “rotund,” and said she’s staying at the agency.
“President Trump tasked me with rightsizing @USAGM, a taxpayer-funded global media agency. We’ve been so effective over the last year that the Deep State has done everything they can to stop us, including launching malicious lawsuits at me and the agency,” Lake wrote.
She went on to write that she believes that USAGM should be part of the State Department and not, as it currently is, an independent agency in the executive branch. Despite the White House’s proposal to funding USAGM only enough to shut down the agency, Congress bucked that request and appropriated $653 million for the agency’s operations this year.
In a statement, the plaintiffs in the case against Lake wrote that they are pleased to see a plan for the agency. “We’re glad to see that the government has provided the court with information regarding USAGM leadership, and eager to see their plans for the agency’s congressionally-appropriated funds,” said Patsy Widakuswara, Jessica Jerreat, and Kate Neeper. “Our objectives remain the same: to restore VOA’s global presence, and to ensure it continues to provide accurate, objective, and comprehensive news, as required by law.”
VOA director Michael Abramowitz, who has sued Lake in a separate case, congratulated Rogers in a statement. “I would welcome the opportunity to work with her and to rebuild Voice of America’s ability to fulfill its vital mission,” he said.
The State Department and White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
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