AmeriCorps Volunteers Address Critical Local Needs, Create Public Good, Foster Belonging

TRENTON — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin filed a lawsuit with a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two states challenging the Trump Administration’s dismantling of AmeriCorps, an independent federal agency that addresses the country’s educational, public safety, and environmental needs by engaging Americans in meaningful community-based service. Every year, AmeriCorps provides opportunities for more than 200,000 Americans to serve their communities.

The lawsuit filed today challenges the Trump Administration’s decision to dismantle AmeriCorps by placing 85% of its paid staff on leave and engaging in mass layoffs, effectively preventing the agency from administering the programs, operations, and funding that make its work possible. As part of its efforts to dismantle the agency, the Trump Administration terminated more than $400 million worth of AmeriCorps programs nationwide.

“Once again, the Trump Administration is unlawfully dismantling a key federal agency and harming our state in the process. Gutting AmeriCorps is illegal and reckless, and it will deprive our communities in New Jersey of key programs that educate students with special needs, support individuals in addiction recovery, and help our state rebuild after national disasters,”said Attorney General Platkin. “AmeriCorps volunteers serve our communities every single day, and we will stand up for the critical programs AmeriCorps supports.  We will fight this senseless move and look forward to seeing the Trump Administration in court.”

AmeriCorps supports national and state community service programs by providing opportunities for Americans to serve communities and by awarding grants to local and national organizations and agencies that address critical community needs. These organizations and agencies use AmeriCorps funding to recruit, place, and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide. AmeriCorps members and volunteers have connected veterans to essential services, fought the opioid epidemic, helped older adults age with dignity, rebuilt communities after disasters, and improved the physical and mental well-being of millions of Americans.

Here in New Jersey, AmeriCorps has supported a wide variety of programs, including recovery programs for individuals who have experienced addiction, educational programs for adults learning English, academic mentoring programs for children with special needs, environmental programs in urban areas, and disaster recovery and relief programs.

In early February, the Trump Administration issued an executive order directing every federal agency to plan to reduce the size of its workforce and prepare to initiate large-scale reductions in force. Since then, AmeriCorps has placed at least 85% of its workforce on administrative leave immediately and notified employees that they would be terminated effective June 24, 2025. In late April, New Jersey received notice from the federal government that over $6 million of AmeriCorps grants that support volunteer and service efforts had been terminated.

In the complaint today, New Jersey and a multistate coalition argue that by gutting AmeriCorps’ workforce and abruptly cancelling critical grants, the Trump Administration is effectively shuttering the national volunteer agency and terminating critical support for AmeriCorps programs in New Jersey and other states.

The lawsuit alleges that the Trump Administration has acted unlawfully in its gutting of AmeriCorps, violating both the Administrative Procedure Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Congress has created AmeriCorps and the programs it administers, and the President cannot dismantle the agency or prevent it from administering appropriated grants or carrying out its statutorily assigned duties.

In bringing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Platkin joins the attorneys general of Maryland, Delaware, California, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia and the states of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

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