California Plans to Sue Federal Government for ‘Dismantling of AmeriCorps’

An AmeriCorps volunteer firefighter assigned to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Woodland Fire Crew, helps contain a fire north of Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 13, 2013. Brennan LinsleyAP Photo

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced April 17 that the state plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for the “dismantling of AmeriCorps.”

According to the nonprofit organization America’s Service Commissions, which supports and provides services to AmeriCorps volunteer programs, approximately 85 percent of AmeriCorps federal staff have been placed on paid administrative leave, and all AmeriCorps NCCC members have been sent home.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time volunteer residential service program for approximately 2,200 18- to 26-year-olds, according to the program.

The Epoch Times has reached out to AmeriCorps for comment.

The Trump administration says it has been working to reassess funding and identify areas in the federal government to cut spending.

On February 11, President Donald Trump signed an order outlining steps “eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity” and directing agency heads to “submit a plan to reduce the size of the Federal Government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition.”

Congress gave AmeriCorps more than $1.3 billion in funding for fiscal year 2025, which started on Oct. 1, 2024, according to the organization. California is the top recipient of AmeriCorps funding and received $132.8 million last year.

In his announcement, Newsom vowed to take legal action against the federal government for allegedly shutting down the volunteer agency.

“We’ve gone from the New Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society to a federal government that gives the middle finger to volunteers serving their fellow Americans,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will sue to stop this.”

The governor said the state will also ramp up recruitment for California Service Corps, the largest service force in the nation, which has four paid service programs, including CaliforniansForAll College Corps, California Climate Action Corps, Youth Service Corps, and AmeriCorps California.

Participants in the AmeriCorps California program are able to earn money for college and trade school and receive a living stipend while they work to help with community projects and natural disasters.

During the 2023–2024 service year in California, AmeriCorps members provided nearly 4.4 million hours of service, tutored or mentored nearly 74,000 students, supported 17,000 foster youth with education and employment, and planted nearly 40,000 trees, according to Newsom’s office.

The members also helped 26,000 households impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires in January and packed 21,000 food boxes.

America’s Service Commissions urged the federal government to continue the AmeriCorps programs.

“We are grateful to our bipartisan champions in the United States Senate and House of Representatives for their longstanding support of AmeriCorps funded programs and state service commissions,” said the group in a statement. “We urge continued funding and continuity of operations to avoid devastating impact on individual AmeriCorps members, volunteers, and the states and communities they serve.”