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Federal judge prevents Trump administration’s cuts to AmeriCorps

By EdSource Staff

Posted on June 10, 2025

AmeriCorps cuts: two young volunteers in blue shirts move new light wood park bench into place

AmeriCorps is a civil society program funded by the federal government that employs people in infrastructure improvement. Here, two youths set up park benches in East River State Park in New York City. a katz/Shutterstock

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Trump’s orders issued in April:
— Suspended roughly 85% of the AmeriCorps staff
— Slashed 1,000 grants
— Let roughly 30,000 volunteers go

Courtesy Facebook

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, Maryland

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland put a stop to the Trump administration’s cuts to AmeriCorps, which sent 6,150 workers to more than 1,200 locations across the state, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

AmeriCorps volunteers work in schools, health facilities, food banks, homeless shelters and veterans’ facilities.

Boardman’s ruling, filed on June 5, doesn’t claim the cuts are illegal — an issue she will address at later stages of the case — but maintains that the Trump administration didn’t follow legal standards and dismantled the agency without advanced notice or consideration of the states’ perspectives.

Boardman also said that while the AmeriCorps’ interim director had consulted with the Department of Government Efficiency, they failed to consult with state officials or with those who would be most significantly impacted.

Orders issued April 16 suspended roughly 85% of the AmeriCorps staff. And 10 days later, the program slashed 1,000 grants and let roughly 30,000 volunteers go, according to the Chronicle.

“The sudden mass grant termination, without any prior notice, has forced many of the states to scramble to fill gaps in services, to deal with the fallout of the mass exiting of [AmeriCorps] members, and to close out the grants they administer,” said Boardman, a President Joe Biden appointee, according to the Chronicle.

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