DOGE hits Trump country
Three months in, it's become abundantly clear that it's not just federal Washington-based programs and overseas aid that are feeling the wrath of Elon Musk and DOGE. The cuts are hitting home in the reddest parts of the country, and Republican elected officials are starting to push back.
Abrupt cuts at AmeriCorps this week have landed hard in deep red states with high poverty rates like West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama, where national service programs have long-filled gaps in education, disaster response and job training.
On Friday, AmeriCorps, at the behest of DOGE, unexpectedly terminated nearly $400 million in grants, more than 40 percent of the agency's grant funds. The move affects more than 1,000 grantees and sidelines more than 32,000 AmeriCorps members nationwide.
Commissions in all 50 states were notified of terminations. In some states, including Alabama and Wyoming, the entire grant portfolio was axed.
'Dear AmeriCorps Award Recipient, Effective immediately, the AmeriCorps award subrecipient(s) included in the attached spreadsheet is/are being terminated because it has been determined that the award no longer effectuates agency priorities,' acting AmeriCorps head Jennifer Bastress Tahmasebi wrote in a letter to affected programs.
They are grants to build homes, respond to disasters and support veterans — the type of work that tends to win bipartisan support.
'All those services are so well used in Louisiana,' said Billy Nungesser, the Republican Lt. Gov of Louisiana, where 13 AmeriCorps programs were cut, hitting 330 volunteers, including around three dozen veterans placed in universities and community college campuses to help other veterans transition back to civilian life.
'I'm hoping that the president can look at it again. If they need to make cuts, let us decide what programs are worthy. It's hard for them to see from Washington what impact these programs have,' Nungesser said.
West Virginia's second largest AmeriCorps program — known as High Rocks — lost both of its grants on Tuesday. The organization provides workforce development training for lower-income youth. 'We're trying so hard to hold on and support our members that just got axed in an incredibly cruel way,' said Sarah Riley, High Rocks' executive director.
AmeriCorps volunteers were told that they had to cease their operations immediately, but many volunteers, who rely on the program's assistance, are ineligible to file for unemployment benefits.
'Our greatest export is young people – our future talent,' said Ashlea Krasnansky, a West Virginia native and AmeriCorps student director with High Rock's First2 Network program that encourages STEM education in West Virginia. 'I believe that the AmeriCorps program helps combat this issue.'
The state's support for the program has been overwhelmingly bipartisan. In 2022, West Virginia's Republican-controlled legislature unanimously passed a bill providing tuition assistance to AmeriCorps volunteers, signed into law by then-Gov. Jim Justice, now a U.S. senator.
A spokesperson for DOGE did not respond to a request for comment.
Elsewhere, 650 volunteers for the agency's National Civilian Community Corps on four campuses nationwide, including two in Iowa and Mississippi, were forced to leave their postings early after DOGE cut the program that gives young people the opportunity to volunteer in natural disaster assistance and community projects.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a longtime supporter of AmeriCorps, criticized the cuts on Musk's platform, X, on Friday : 'I support improving efficiency and eliminating waste, but I would have to object to cutting AmeriCorps grants like those that support Louisiana's veterans and organizations that provide crucial support after hurricanes and natural disasters.'
More than 20 blue states filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the Trump administration of illegally dismantling the agency without congressional authority.
On Capitol Hill, some moderate Republicans are looking for ways to stop the bleeding.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Don Bacon (R-Ne.) co-sponsored a bill to bar federal dollars from being used to dismantle the agency. 'Congressman Fitzpatrick has long championed AmeriCorps as a vital pillar of national service,' Fitzpatrick spokesperson Casey-Lee Waldron said in a statement. 'He's fighting to protect AmeriCorps from cuts and will continue working across the aisle to ensure it remains a national priority.'
'No one can seem to figure out what the rhyme or reason is. It's red states and blue states. It's urban and rural,' said Hillary Kane, the director of the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development.
David Weinstein is the founder and executive director of Joyful Readers, another Philadelphia-based group that provides tutoring for K-12 students. 'Our organization teaches kids to read,' Weinstein said. 'Since when is that not a national priority?'
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