April 18 (UPI) — California is suing the White House and the federal Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, over cuts being made to AmeriCorps, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., confirmed in a statement.
“We’ve gone from the New Deal, the New Frontier, and the Great Society to a federal government that gives the middle finger to volunteers serving their fellow Americans. We will sue to stop this,” Newsom said in a statement on his website.
Earlier in the week, DOGE announced it was moving to eliminate virtually all jobs within the agency, placing a majority of employees on leave.
AmeriCorps was created under former President Bill Clinton and launched in 1994. It provides opportunities for young Americans who are ostensibly volunteering their time and receive only a minor financial stipend for their service.
While the program grew under President Barack Obama, it faced major cuts during President Donald Trump‘s first term in office.
AmeriCorps members are deployed in situations such as the catastrophic fires in Southern California, helping to distribute supplies and with other recovery efforts, a fact Newsom highlighted in his statement.
The agency’s volunteers assisted 26,000 homes negatively affected by the fires, while packing 21,000 food boxes of supplies.
More than 6,200 AmeriCorps members in California provided a collective 4,397,674 hours of service during the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to Newsom’s office. They also planted approximately 39,200 trees and mentored almost 74,000 students.
In a parallel move, the governor’s office announced it was stepping up enlistment in the California Service Corps, state-run agency with a similar mandate.
The news comes just days after Newsom announced the state was launching a separate lawsuit against the White House.
On Wednesday, the governor announced California was suing levied earlier in the month by the Trump administration.
Newsom at the time said California is the largest manufacturer in the country, and as such, the duties will negatively affect the state to a disproportionate level. He said California is arguing that Trump does not have the authority to implement such changes.