Attorney General Ellison challenges Trump Administration’s withholding of funds from AmeriCorps, the national volunteer public service agency

July 24, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Ellison and a coalition of 22 other attorneys general – joined by the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania – filed a lawsuit challenging the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) attempt to gut AmeriCorps by withholding tens of millions of dollars in funding for critical service programs. In June, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition won a court order that reinstated hundreds of AmeriCorps programs that were unlawfully cancelled and barred AmeriCorps from making similar cuts without formal rulemaking. Despite this order, OMB is withholding vast sums intended for outstanding service programs, threatening their survival and the wellbeing of those who depend on their services. Because of the Trump administration’s withholding of these critical resources, the coalition has filed an amended lawsuit that adds OMB as a defendant and brings new legal claims against the agency. 

“Minnesotans believe in public service, in supporting one another, and in extending a helping hand to folks in need, and that’s what AmeriCorps is all about,” said Attorney General Ellison. “That’s why I’m once again going to court to defend AmeriCorps and the incredible work they do to lift people out of poverty and provide for people who’ve fallen on hard times. The Trump Administration’s attacks on this program are shameful and I will not allow them to go on unchallenged.”

AmeriCorps, an independent federal agency that engages Americans in meaningful community-based service, provides opportunities for more than 200,000 Americans to serve their communities every year. AmeriCorps supports national and state community service programs by funding and placing volunteers in local and national organizations that address critical community needs. Organizations rely on support from AmeriCorps to recruit, place, and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide. 

AmeriCorps has over 14,000 volunteers and members in Minnesota who serve their communities at over 2,100 service locations across the state. They work at food banks, homeless shelters, faith-based organizations, and more. Some of the projects undertaken by AmeriCorps members in Minnesota include tutoring students who are struggling academically, teaching digital literacy skills to low-income Minnesotans to help them find greater economic opportunities, and working with Habitat for Humanity to build affordable housing.

The lawsuit alleges that OMB has unlawfully withheld from plaintiff states well over $38 million in support intended for specific AmeriCorps programs, across multiple funding streams. For example, OMB appears to have withheld tens of millions of dollars intended for AmeriCorps Senior Companion Programs and Foster Grandparent Programs in plaintiff states, programs that pair low-income seniors with children in need of mentorship and support or with other seniors in need of companionship and care. The administration has also withheld approximately $5 million intended for plaintiff state service commissions, which was needed to provide training and technical assistance to service members across the country. And while AmeriCorps decided to fund numerous programs in plaintiff states with over $33 million in highly competitive grants for the next service year, OMB is preparing to withhold these funds from distribution as well.   

The coalition establishes that the Trump administration has acted unlawfully in its withholding of AmeriCorps funds, violating both the Administrative Procedures Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Congress created AmeriCorps and appropriated funding to support public service, and neither OMB nor AmeriCorps hold authority to defy Congress by refusing to distribute funds to worthy service programs.   

Joining Attorney General Ellison in filing this lawsuit, which is led by the attorneys general of Maryland, California, Colorado, and Delaware, are the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, the District of Colombia, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.