Newsom files lawsuit against DOGE for AmeriCorps reductions, declaring it ‘gives the middle finger to volunteers’
Late Thursday, the California governor announced a legal challenge and pledged to expedite recruitment for the California Service Corps program.
TroibNews 
SACRAMENTO, California — Late Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration in response to cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency to AmeriCorps.
This marks the second lawsuit the state has launched against the White House in just two days.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration placed nearly all senior AmeriCorps employees on leave while pursuing significant budget cuts to the agency that supports thousands of volunteers nationwide each year. Newsom described these cuts as an insult not only to the affected workers but to all Americans.
“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,” Newsom, a Democrat, stated in a prepared announcement.
This lawsuit follows Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta's declaration that California is the first state to sue Trump over tariffs, marking a bold move to contest the president’s extensive actions. California, the fifth-largest economy globally, risks billions of dollars due to tariffs, as significant industries in the state, from Silicon Valley to agriculture, rely heavily on international trade.
In discussing the lawsuit regarding the AmeriCorps cuts, Newsom’s team referenced a quote from the late President John F. Kennedy, framing the budget reductions as a misguided and lesser approach to the nation’s emergency response efforts.
“DOGE’s actions aren’t about making government work better — it’s about making communities weaker,” stated Josh Fryday, Newsom’s chief service officer. “These actions will dismantle vital lifelines in communities across California.”
Earlier this year, Newsom and the California Legislature allocated $25 million for Bonta’s Justice Department to pursue lawsuits against the Trump administration, and the state has initiated over a dozen legal challenges during Trump’s second term.
Max Fischer for TROIB News
This marks the second lawsuit the state has launched against the White House in just two days.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration placed nearly all senior AmeriCorps employees on leave while pursuing significant budget cuts to the agency that supports thousands of volunteers nationwide each year. Newsom described these cuts as an insult not only to the affected workers but to all Americans.
“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,” Newsom, a Democrat, stated in a prepared announcement.
This lawsuit follows Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta's declaration that California is the first state to sue Trump over tariffs, marking a bold move to contest the president’s extensive actions. California, the fifth-largest economy globally, risks billions of dollars due to tariffs, as significant industries in the state, from Silicon Valley to agriculture, rely heavily on international trade.
In discussing the lawsuit regarding the AmeriCorps cuts, Newsom’s team referenced a quote from the late President John F. Kennedy, framing the budget reductions as a misguided and lesser approach to the nation’s emergency response efforts.
“DOGE’s actions aren’t about making government work better — it’s about making communities weaker,” stated Josh Fryday, Newsom’s chief service officer. “These actions will dismantle vital lifelines in communities across California.”
Earlier this year, Newsom and the California Legislature allocated $25 million for Bonta’s Justice Department to pursue lawsuits against the Trump administration, and the state has initiated over a dozen legal challenges during Trump’s second term.
Max Fischer for TROIB News
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