Gavin Newsom Fights to Save National Service as Trump Administration Guts AmeriCorps Volunteers

When wildfires tore through Los Angeles earlier this year, leaving families displaced and communities in ashes, young volunteers in bright vests were among the first to arrive. These AmeriCorps members distributed food, cleared debris, and offered hope to those who had lost everything. Now, the federal government, under the banner of efficiency, has decided these heroes are expendable. The abrupt dismantling of AmeriCorps, driven by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, isn’t just a policy misstep; it’s a gutting of the very spirit of collective action that has long defined America’s response to crisis.

California, led by Governor Gavin Newsom, is not standing idly by. The state is suing to block what it calls an illegal assault on a program that has supported millions, while simultaneously accelerating recruitment for its own California Service Corps, already the largest in the nation. This fight is about more than preserving a program; it’s about defending the idea that communities thrive when we invest in one another, not when we leave people to fend for themselves.

The decision to slash AmeriCorps came out of nowhere, catching even seasoned policymakers off guard. Over 2,000 young volunteers with the National Civilian Community Corps were sent home in April 2025, their work in disaster zones left unfinished. This isn’t streamlining government; it’s abandoning the vulnerable. California’s response, blending legal action with a bold expansion of its own service programs, signals a refusal to let federal neglect dictate the state’s future.

AmeriCorps isn’t just a line item in a budget. In 2023-24, its 6,264 California members logged nearly 4.4 million hours, tutoring 73,833 students, supporting 17,000 foster youth, and planting 39,288 trees. They packed 21,000 food boxes and helped 26,000 households recover from the Los Angeles fires. These numbers reflect real people: a child learning to read, a senior receiving a meal, a family rebuilding after disaster. The federal cuts threaten to unravel this lifeline, leaving communities to face crises alone.

Josh Fryday, director of California’s GO-Serve, put it bluntly: this isn’t about bureaucracy but boots on the ground. The loss of AmeriCorps funding, which covers over half of the California Climate Action Corps and a portion of the College Corps, jeopardizes disaster response and educational support. Local governments, already stretched thin, can’t absorb this burden. The ripple effects will hit hardest in underserved areas, where service corps members often bridge gaps that no other agency can fill.

Advocates for fiscal restraint argue that states or private charities should pick up the slack. But this ignores reality. Private efforts, while valuable, lack the scale and coordination of programs like AmeriCorps, which has contributed 8 million hours to 3,400 disaster projects since 1999. Expecting cash-strapped local governments to replace this capacity is not just impractical; it’s a recipe for neglect. California’s investment of $132.8 million in federal and state funds last year underscores the scale of commitment required, a commitment the federal government is now walking away from.

The ethos of AmeriCorps traces back to the New Deal and John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier, when leaders called on Americans to build a stronger, freer nation together. Kennedy’s vision of pioneers working for the common cause inspired programs that lifted millions, from the Civilian Conservation Corps to the Great Society’s social initiatives. Today, that vision is under attack. The rhetoric of self-reliance pushed by some federal policymakers echoes the 1990s welfare reform era, when personal responsibility was prioritized over systemic support. History shows that such shifts often deepen inequality, leaving the most vulnerable to bear the cost.

California’s Service Corps, with over 10,000 members, embodies the collective spirit Kennedy championed. Programs like the Climate Action Corps train young people for green jobs while tackling environmental challenges, while the College Corps offers tuition support to low-income students who serve their communities. These initiatives aren’t handouts; they’re investments in people and the planet. By contrast, the federal push to dismantle AmeriCorps reflects a narrower view, one that prioritizes tax cuts for the wealthy over the public good.

Faced with federal abandonment, California is doubling down. Newsom’s goal to recruit 10,000 volunteers for the California Service Corps aims to deliver five million hours of service, addressing everything from post-pandemic academic recovery to climate resilience. The state’s $154 million budget for California Volunteers, including ongoing funds for the Youth Jobs Corps and Climate Action Corps, shows a commitment to sustaining this work despite a daunting budget deficit. This isn’t just about filling gaps; it’s about setting a national standard for what public service can achieve.

The state’s legal challenge to the AmeriCorps cuts rests on a simple principle: the federal government can’t arbitrarily dismantle programs that Congress has authorized. By pursuing this fight in court, California is defending not just its own interests but the rights of every community that relies on national service. Meanwhile, programs like the Long Beach Public Service Corps, backed by a $2.5 million state grant, are creating local models for workforce development and disaster response, proving that service corps can be both practical and transformative.

The fight over AmeriCorps is a microcosm of a larger struggle: whether America will honor its legacy of collective action or retreat into isolation. California’s stand is a reminder that progress comes from investment, not abandonment. The state’s service corps members, from those tutoring kids to those planting trees, are building a future where communities are resilient and opportunities are shared. This vision, rooted in decades of public service, is worth defending.

As lawsuits unfold and recruitment ramps up, one thing is clear: California won’t let federal neglect define its path. The state’s defiance is a call to every American who believes in the power of service. We can’t afford to let this moment slip away. The stakes are too high, the needs too great, and the potential too vast to do anything less than fight for a nation that lifts up all its people.