UPDATED: DE AG Jennings Co-leads Lawsuit to Save AmeriCorps Wins Preliminary Injunction
UPDATED – 06/06/25 – A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction restoring key funding for the AmeriCorps program. A lawsuit co-led by Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and joined by 23 states and the District of Columbia was filed in late April to block the dismantling of AmeriCorps. Under this injunction, the Trump Administration must restore all terminated AmeriCorps grants and programs and return to service all impacted AmeriCorps members, VISTA members and National Civilian Community Corps members in Delaware and the other plaintiff states.
Additional information from the AG’s Office:
AmeriCorps, an independent federal agency tasked with engaging the nation in meaningful community service that directly addresses the country’s educational, public safety, and environmental needs, provides service opportunities to more than 200,000 Americans every year. In April, Jennings and a coalition of 24 states sued to block the Trump Administration’s attempt to effectively incapacitate the agency by reducing its workforce by nearly 90%.
“This was a cruel and foolish policy from the beginning,” said Attorney General Jennings. “‘Saving’ fractions of a penny by defunding children’s literacy programs, while going to the mat to rack up trillions in deficits for handouts to billionaires, tells you all you need to know about this president’s priorities. The AmeriCorps cuts had no basis in necessity, logic, or moral purpose. The Court recognized that, and today the rule of law won.”
“AmeriCorps members and their commitment to serving others represent the heart of America,” said U.S. Senator Chris Coons. “Trump’s attempts to cut AmeriCorps are an attack on our communities and an attack on our nation’s rule of law. I’m glad Attorney General Jennings is standing up for our communities, AmeriCorps members, and our Constitution, and I’m confident she’ll continue to triumph over this reckless and cruel administration in the courts.”
“AmeriCorps provides essential services—education, disaster relief, job training, public health support—to communities across our country that are too often overlooked and underserved,” said Governor Matt Meyer. “Cutting these programs is not just short-sighted—it’s reckless. It rips away lifelines from hard-working Americans to fund tax breaks for billionaires. I’m deeply grateful to Attorney General Kathy Jennings for recognizing the urgency and humanity of this issue and Judge Deborah Boardman for restoring funding so thousands of AmeriCorps members can continue their life-changing work. In Delaware, we will continue to invest in programs to lift people up — not destroy critical services people rely on every day.”
In the injunction, Judge Deborah L. Boardman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland found that the Trump Administration likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and that Delaware and other states would be irreparably harmed if the cuts were allowed to move forward.
AmeriCorps support national and state community service programs both through direct service opportunities and through grants to local and national organizations. 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.
In Delaware, those organizations include West End Neighborhood House, Children’s Beach House, and Reading Assist, among others.
“We’re deeply grateful for Attorney General Jennings and Delaware’s ongoing support of our tutors and students,” said Caroline O’Neal, CEO of Reading Assist. “Our dedicated Fellows help change lives and we need to preserve this incredible program. This year, 90% of students reached key reading benchmarks, and 83% of kindergartners are now reading on grade level.”
The cuts blocked in today’s injunction threatened more than $1 million in grants to nine Delaware organizations:
- Reading Assist ($305,370)
- Children’s Beach House ($283,500)
- WeProsper Family Organization ($132,300)
- Leading Youth Through Empowerment ($130,941)
- Literacy Volunteers Serving Adults Northern Delaware ($129,330)
- West End Neighborhood House ($120,879)
- TeenSHARP ($49,140)
- Family Promise of Northern New Castle County ($40,721)
- Spur Impact Association ($40,720)
Delaware is a lead state on this lawsuit, along with Maryland, California, and Colorado. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
AG Jennings was supported in its filing by the Office of Sen. Chris Coons, the Office of Gov. Matt Meyer, the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services, the Delaware Office of Volunteerism, the Delaware Division of Libraries, Reading Assist, Literacy Delaware, West End Neighborhood House, and Children’s Beach House, among many others concerned about the effects of terminating AmeriCorps programs in Delaware.
ORIGINAL STORY – 04/29/25 – Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings along with 24 other states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit to block the Trump Administration’s dismantling of AmeriCorps. The announcement of the lawsuit was done by video with Jennings, California AG Robert Bonta and Colorado AG Phil Weiser. (AG Jennings comes in 7-minutes into the video)
Video courtesy of the State of California AG Rob Bonta
Additional information from Attorney General Jennings:
AmeriCorps, an independent federal agency tasked with engaging the nation in meaningful community service that directly address the country’s educational, public safety, and environmental needs, provides service opportunities to more than 200,000 Americans every year. The Trump Administration has moved to effectively incapacitate the agency by reducing that workforce by nearly 90%.
“It’s getting harder by the day to see anything but cruelty motivating the Trump Administration’” said Attorney General Jennings. “There is no debate here. These grants make a life-changing difference in kids’ futures, and they cost a fraction of a penny to Delaware taxpayers. No serious adult believes that teaching kids to read hurts America. These cuts are senseless, destructive, and illegal. We’re not letting this happen.”
“Communities up and down Delaware and around the country depend on AmeriCorps members who serve on the front lines of natural disasters, in overcrowded classrooms, and at veterans’ resource centers,” said Senator Chris Coons, co-Chair of the Senate National Service Caucus. “The Trump administration’s illegal actions are ripping away help from cities and towns that need it. I’m fighting back in Congress urging the administration to reverse its reckless actions, and I’m proud that Attorney General Jennings is leading the fight to defend AmeriCorps in the courts.”
“AmeriCorps taught me that leadership is about service, not status, and the Trump Administration’s assault on Delaware’s programs is as un-American as it is immoral,” said Governor Matt Meyer. “AmeriCorps members don’t ask for praise or profit — they ask for the chance to serve their communities with dignity and purpose. I fully support this lawsuit and Attorney General Jennings because defending AmeriCorps means defending the values that make our nation strong: community, compassion, and the belief that service to others is the highest calling.”
AmeriCorps support national and state community service programs both through direct service opportunities and through grants to local and national organizations. 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.
In Delaware, those organizations include West End Neighborhood House, Children’s Beach House, and Reading Assist, among others.
“On Saturday, Reading Assist was devastated to learn of abrupt federal cuts to one of our AmeriCorps grants,” said Caroline O’Neal, CEO of Reading Assist. “This decision immediately impacts 17 Fellows serving Delaware students — including military veterans, single parents, a Fellow battling cancer, and a Fellow who planned to use their education award to pursue a master’s degree in education. These individuals answered the call to serve and now face the loss of more than $15,000 in promised education benefits.
“For 35 years, Reading Assist has been committed to closing the literacy gap. As the state’s largest AmeriCorps program, we are deeply grateful to our congressional delegation, Attorney General Jennings, Governor Meyer, and other leaders who are standing with us to fight this decision. Their support sends a clear message: Delaware values national service, and we will not stand silently when our Fellows — and the students they serve — are harmed.”
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. 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 today’s complaint, Jennings and the coalition argue that dismantling AmeriCorps effectively precludes the states’ abilities to support its programs within their borders. AmeriCorps’ few remaining staff will not be able to process grants and ensure the flow of funds to states, which will harm organizations and agencies that receive these grants.
The coalition states that the Trump Administration has acted unlawfully by gutting AmeriCorps, violating both the Administrative Procedures Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Congress created AmeriCorps and the programs it administers, and the President cannot unilaterally incapacitate the agency and its ability to carry out its mission. Further, by dismantling AmeriCorps and its programs the Trump Administration has violated the Executive Branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed.
The AmeriCorps cuts impact more than $1 million in grants to nine Delaware organizations:
- Reading Assist ($305,370)
- Children’s Beach House ($283,500)
- WeProsper Family Organization ($132,300)
- Leading Youth Through Empowerment ($130,941)
- Literacy Volunteers Serving Adults Northern Delaware ($129,330)
- West End Neighborhood House ($120,879)
- TeenSHARP ($49,140)
- Family Promise of Northern New Castle County ($40,721)
- Spur Impact Association ($40,720)
Delaware is a lead state on this lawsuit, along with Maryland, California, and Colorado. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.