Trump purges Clinton’s $1B woke, audit-failing volunteer agency

The Trump administration on Wednesday placed most of AmeriCorps’ full-time employees on administrative leave as it moves to reorganize the Bill Clinton-era volunteer agency.

The independent federal agency was established by Congress in 1993 to connect young Americans with community service opportunities, providing roughly a $4,000 stipend, housing accommodations, food, and a higher education grant, the New York Times reported.

‘It is time to admit that this is a failed program that needs a complete overhaul or elimination.’

Despite receiving about $1 billion annually, AmeriCorps failed eight consecutive audits.

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) in December accused the agency of having “a long history of abusing taxpayer dollars.”

“In 2023, the AmeriCorps inspector general issued a ‘Management Challenges’ report detailing significant challenges AmeriCorps faces. This includes being unable to detect fraud. We have no real idea when AmeriCorps will be able to have a clean audit again. In fact, this year’s audit includes 78 recommendations still open, even after AmeriCorps said it addressed 20 last year,” Owens said.

He called for AmeriCorps to be on the Department of Government Efficiency’s “chopping block,” arguing that it should not receive more taxpayer money while “it continuously fails to meet basic accountability standards.”

“We can tell AmeriCorps to modernize and reform until we are blue in the face, but nothing will change unless we recognize the system is built on a flawed idea. It is time to admit that this is a failed program that needs a complete overhaul or elimination,” Owens remarked.

Like many other federal agencies in recent years, AmeriCorps has become infiltrated with woke ideology, including climate change and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Fox News Digital reported that the agency’s 2024 annual management report listed “advancing racial and economic equity” as one of its key priorities.

“AmeriCorps has a decades-long commitment to advancing racial and economic equity through national service and volunteering,” the report read. “These efforts are designed to expand pathways to opportunity for all Americans. Racial and economic equity will be central to AmeriCorps’ planning and implementation of all priorities, ensuring AmeriCorps members and volunteers reflect the diversity of the American people and the communities in which they serve.”

While Owens supports the elimination of AmeriCorps, a Trump administration official told the news outlet that the agency will receive an operational reset but will remain in existence.

On Wednesday, the White House placed 75% of the AmeriCorps full-time employees — 535 out of 700 staffers — on administrative leave while determining how it will reconfigure the agency. Additionally, agency contracts worth approximately $250 million have been terminated.

Anything else?

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) stated on Thursday that the state would file a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop its reorganization efforts.

He wrote in a post on X, “DOGE’s actions to dismantle AmeriCorps threaten vulnerable Californians, disaster response and recovery, and economic opportunities.”

“California will be suing to stop this,” Newsom concluded.

In a separate statement, he called Trump’s actions a “middle finger to volunteers serving their fellow Americans.”

Earlier this week, Newsom filed a lawsuit against Trump to block the administration from imposing increased tariffs. The governor has set aside $50 million to challenge the current administration.

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