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New Jersey stands with 24 other states in challenge to mass layoffs and program terminations that could halt vital service initiatives nationwide.
4-30-2025 4:53pm
NJ Joins Multistate Lawsuit to Block Trump Administration’s Dismantling of AmeriCorps
TRENTON, NJ — April 30, 2025 — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two states in filing a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s dismantling of AmeriCorps, a national service agency that supports over 200,000 volunteers annually through programs addressing education, public health, disaster recovery, and environmental initiatives.
Filed today, the lawsuit contests the administration’s decision to place 85% of AmeriCorps staff on administrative leave, initiate mass layoffs, and terminate more than $400 million in national program funding. These actions, the complaint argues, have crippled the agency’s ability to function and threaten essential services nationwide, including more than $6 million in grants to New Jersey organizations that were abruptly cancelled in late April.
“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.”
According to the filing, the Trump Administration’s executive order, issued in February, instructed federal agencies to prepare for workforce reductions. AmeriCorps responded by halting its operations and notifying most employees of planned terminations by June 24, 2025.
In New Jersey, AmeriCorps funding has supported a wide array of services, including:
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Addiction recovery and treatment support
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English literacy programs for adults
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Mentoring for children with special needs
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Urban environmental initiatives
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Disaster recovery and emergency response efforts
The lawsuit contends that the administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers. Plaintiffs argue that Congress created AmeriCorps by statute, allocated funds to support its programs, and vested the agency with specific responsibilities that cannot be nullified by executive action.
The suit, co-led by Platkin and attorneys general from Maryland, Delaware, California, and Colorado, is backed by states spanning the political and geographic spectrum, including Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington, among others. The District of Columbia, as well as the states of Kentucky and Pennsylvania, also joined the action.
Plaintiffs seek immediate injunctive relief to halt the layoffs and restore AmeriCorps’ ability to distribute and manage grants, asserting that these programs are essential to community well-being and were never intended to be subject to unilateral executive dissolution.
