Judge orders Trump administration to restore AmeriCorps as litigation continues

A federal judge in Maryland on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to restore AmeriCorps programs and workers in the 24 states, and the District of Columbia, that sued to stop the deep cuts ordered in April by DOGE and the administration.

U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman said the administration failed to provide sufficient notice of the cuts, which were announced without warning — in the case of AmeriCorps, nearly $400 million in grants were canceled after business hours on a Friday, and many workers only found out the next day.

Boardman granted a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the cuts in the 25 jurisdictions, most led by Democrats, that filed the suit. Her order does not affect the program in the states that were not part of the suit, or the cuts ordered at the agency’s headquarters.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, in a statement Thursday, reiterated administration claims that AmeriCorps failed eight consecutive audits and reportedly made more than $45 million in improper payments just last year.

“President Trump has the right to restore accountability to the entire Executive Branch, and this will not be the final say on the matter,” Kelly’s statement said.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D), who led the April 29 suit, with 22 other attorneys general and two governors, has argued the AmeriCorps cuts are unconstitutional because the programs funded by Congress can only be undone by those lawmakers. He welcomed Thursday’s ruling, which he said “safeguards … life-changing services that help build a better Maryland.”

‘My world is flipped on its head right now’: AmeriCorps workers devastated by firings

“AmeriCorps programs provide critical resources that Maryland communities rely on to educate our students, preserve our parks, and feed our families through the dedicated service of selfless public servants who tutor children, care for the elderly, and protect public lands,” Brown said in a statement. “As this case continues, I will do everything in my power to defend these essential programs from the Trump administration’s unlawful and reckless cuts.”

The cuts came at the direction of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Service and began in mid-April, when 85% of AmeriCorps administrative staff was placed on administrative leave, and a little more than a week later began receiving reduction-in-force notices.

States were notified after hours on April 25, a Friday, that nearly $400 million in federal grants had been canceled effective immediately, that grant recipients “must immediately cease all award activities” and AmeriCorps members were to be let go and sent home “due to the agency’s termination of the grant and program closure.”

Officials said that in Maryland, the administration’s cuts affected at least 550 positions at universities, state agencies and other organizations that offer programs such as mentoring services, food pantries and conservation.

The state Department of Natural Resources said in a statement Thursday that the abrupt loss of AmeriCorps funding forced the cancellation of many summer park events and programs such as student field trips, programming for campers and other functions handled by conservation corps members.

“The positive impacts this program has on the State of Maryland can only partly be measured in statistics,” Ranger Sara Marcinak, director of the Maryland Conservation Corps, said in a statement. “The real value are the sparks of stewardship they set in people’s hearts and minds and the resulting fires they carefully tend to further cultivate that stewardship ethic.”

Thanks to some state and private funding, 17 members, or less than half of the state’s Conservation Corps were “reactivated” last week. This season’s environmental education program will continue through August. But state officials did not indicate when, or if, other AmeriCorps members might be back on board.

Boardman’s order gave the government until 5 p.m. Friday to notify states and AmeriCorps members of her order, and she gave it until Tuesday to report back on what actions it has taken to implement the order.

DNR spokesperson Gregg Bortz said the agency does not have a comment on Thursday’s court decision. But a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore (D) praised Brown’s leadership in the fight against “draconian cuts” to AmeriCorps.

“Today’s ruling makes it clear that the chaotic decision by Washington to immediately dismantle service pathways and abruptly dismiss committed AmeriCorps members actively strengthening our communities was erroneous,” said Carter Elliott IV.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) — one of two governors, along with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), to join state attorneys general in the suit — said on social media Thursday that the “federal government made a commitment to organizations across the Commonwealth, and with the abrupt termination of AmeriCorps, the Trump Administration went back on that commitment without obeying the law.”

Boardman denied the states’ request to reverse the reductions-in-force of AmeriCorps administrative staff, saying the damage the states claimed as a result of those firings was too speculative.

Besides Maryland and Washington, D.C., the other states named in the suit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.