California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) says his state will file a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from dismantling the federal AmeriCorps service program.
“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, in a post on social platform X, added that efforts to shutter the service program “threaten vulnerable Californians, disaster response and recovery, and economic opportunities.”
The Trump administration, with direction from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), began the process of winding down the existing community service program this month, putting most AmeriCorps full-time staffers on administrative leave Wednesday and pulling volunteers from their field posts. Roughly $250 million in AmeriCorps contracts also have been canceled, according to a Fox News report citing an unnamed official in the administration.
The official told the outlet that AmeriCorps will be gutted and recreated to focus on Trump’s agenda.
The administration effectively shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) using a similar maneuver.
Newsom’s office didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for more information on the pending lawsuit.
The governor’s office highlighted in its news release the assistance that AmeriCorps volunteers provided for thousands of Californians affected by January’s devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and said it would “accelerate recruitment for the California Service Corps program,” which is similar to AmeriCorps but on the state level.
Newsom, who has been floated as a potential Democratic presidential candidate for 2028, has been a frequent foe of President Trump. Earlier this week, he filed a lawsuit challenging the president’s sweeping tariff agenda.
California received more funding for AmeriCorps programs, including non-governmental assistance, than any other state at $131.1 million, according to the agency’s annual report spanning from February 2024 to February 2025, followed by Texas ($70.4 million), Minnesota ($64.5 million), New York ($59.1 million) and Florida ($52.2 million).
The AmeriCorps National Service Program was created under the Clinton administration in 1993 as a volunteer program for young adults aged 18 to 26 to tackle community service projects in the U.S. — similar to how the PeaceCorps provides international assistance. In exchange for their volunteer service, members receive modest living stipends and money for college or trade school expenses.
The annual report AmeriCorps filed last month, showed programs in nearly 35,000 locations across the country. But the program has faced scrutiny from lawmakers who have questioned its effectiveness and cost.
A subcommittee of the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing in December on the agency’s policies, priorities and financial audits.
“Unfortunately, AmeriCorps has a long history of abusing taxpayer dollars,” Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee Chair Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) said in his opening remarks at the hearing. “I recognize that many of AmeriCorps’ programs are well-intentioned, but this doesn’t outweigh its significant problems. Too often this program has been a drain on taxpayer funds — with fewer and fewer results to show it is worth the cost.”
“Bottom line, AmeriCorps’ long history of being unable to manage the resources entrusted to it with any sense of accuracy or fiscal accountability is shameful,” Owens said.
Stephen Ravas, acting Inspector General for AmeriCorps, testified during the hearing that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the program’s ability to meet its financial accountability targets.
“The support and dedication of the new administration’s leadership team to continue these
efforts will be critical to the agency’s progress,” he said.