The Voice of America staff got a reprieve Tuesday when a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must restore the government-run broadcaster along with other networks.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that there was an absence of “any analysis whatsoever” in the decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the Voa and other government-funded broadcast entities. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the agency, and in response, Voa employees were placed on administrative leave. That largely halted the Voa’s newsgathering last month.

Lamberth ruled that the shut down of Voa and the termination of grants to other networks ran afoul of congressional appropriations laws, among other things. His order is to restore the agency’s employees and contractors as well as grants to Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

His ruling granting a preliminary injunction...