States sue Trump administration over DOGE AmeriCorps cuts

Several states have sued the Trump administration over the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to the AmeriCorps program.

More than 20 attorneys general and two states filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s dismantling of the independent agency under DOGE, which under tech mogul and Trump ally Elon Musk has sought to make cuts across the government.

The suit comes after the administration placed 85 percent of AmeriCorps staff on administrative leave.

Just a small number of employees remain after the downsizing. A similar operation was used to close the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The administration said the decision was made over concerns about the agency’s failed audits and use of more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars annually.

AmeriCorps is under federal control. It provides stipends for volunteers that respond to various local, state and national challenges by doing service projects.

“AmeriCorps volunteers serve our communities every single day, and we will stand up for the critical programs AmeriCorps supports,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, one of the attorneys general who sued the administration, said in a statement. “We will fight this senseless move and look forward to seeing the Trump Administration in court.”

Platkin, along with 23 other attorneys generals, sued the administration over the move. The governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania were also included on the suit.  

The states are arguing that by effectively shuttering the agency, the administration is limiting the state’s ability to provide funds to the volunteer programs in their areas.

Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown said the cuts to the agency will impact education, public safety and environmental needs in local communities. It will hurt veterans, those struggling with the opioid epidemic, senior citizens, natural disaster aid and mental health for Americans, he said.

“AmeriCorps provides hope and belonging in American communities nationwide. It gives inspiration and purpose to the young people who join its ranks annually,” Brown said in a statement. “But the president thinks public programs and public dollars are his to do with what he will, snatching them up through the same scheming that federal courts have already said is likely illegal.”