MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul and a multistate coalition on Thursday secured a court order that blocks the Trump Administration’s dismantling of AmeriCorps programs that provide services across Wisconsin.
The preliminary injunction granted by a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland orders the Trump Administration to restore AmeriCorps programs and volunteers in Wisconsin and other coalition states and secures the nationwide restoration of members of the National Civilian Community Corps, a residential service program that funds young adults who work on projects involving disaster relief, home construction, and trail maintenance. AG Kaul and a coalition of attorneys general and states filed a lawsuit in April challenging the Trump Administration’s attempted dismantling of AmeriCorps.
“This decision is an important reprieve not only for many programs supported by AmeriCorps that were affected by the Trump administration’s sudden and unwarranted cuts, but also for the many communities that benefit from those programs,” said AG Kaul. “Congress should also step in and prevent the Trump administration from doing further damage to AmeriCorps.”
AmeriCorps is an independent federal agency tasked with engaging Americans in meaningful community-based service that directly addresses the country’s educational, public safety, and environmental needs — every year, the agency provides opportunities for more than 200,000 Americans to serve their communities.
AmeriCorps programs have a significant impact on Wisconsin. For example, AmeriCorps funds the Marshfield Clinic’s Recovery Corps program, which trains AmeriCorps members to be recovery coaches for people with substance use disorders, and to provide community education about substance use disorders and recovery resources. The program supported 150 people with substance use disorders in the 2023-24 program year.
Other critical AmeriCorps programs in Wisconsin have been threatened by the administration’s attempted cuts. Easterseals Wisconsin, which provides therapeutic recreation activities for veterans and their families, would have been unable to provide summer recreation and therapy activities for veterans and individuals with disabilities without AmeriCorps members.
In their lawsuit, AG Kaul and the coalition established that the Trump Administration acted unlawfully in its gutting of AmeriCorps, violating both the Administrative Procedures Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution.
In bringing the lawsuit, AG Kaul was joined by the attorneys general of Maryland, Delaware, California, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, and the states of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
A copy of the order is available here.
A copy of the opinion is available here.
View this press release on the DOJ website here.
