A federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of more than 1,000 Voice of America employees who were laid off following Trump administration efforts to shut down operations at the federal broadcasting agency.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Republican appointee, issued two separate rulings Tuesday declaring that attempts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) were illegal. The USAGM is an independent federal agency that oversees Voice of America operations.

The judge mandated that the affected employees return to work by March 23 and that broadcasting operations resume. The order affects more than 1,000 full-time journalists and support staff at the news organization.

The mass layoffs occurred after the Trump administration moved to effectively shut down Voice of America, the U.S. government's international broadcasting service. The agency has traditionally provided news programming to audiences worldwide as part of America's public diplomacy efforts.

The court ruling represents a significant legal setback for the administration's restructuring efforts at the federal broadcasting agency. Voice of America has operated as a federally funded news service since 1942, broadcasting in multiple languages to international audiences.