Latest news with #DeborahBoardman
USA Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump administration must restore AmeriCorps programs in 24 states, judge rules
Trump administration must restore AmeriCorps programs in 24 states, judge rules The judge's ruling applied only to Democratic-led states who sued in April to challenge what they said was Trump's unlawful dismantling of AmeriCorps. Show Caption Hide Caption Fired USAID employees applauded leaving DC office for last time Demonstrators outside the USAID offices in Washington, D.C., broke into applause as fired employees returned to pick up their belongings. June 5 (Reuters) - A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on June 5 to restore programs funded by AmeriCorps grants in 24 Democratic-led states but declined to bar the federal agency for national service and volunteering from cutting the bulk of its workforce. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Baltimore issued an injunction requiring the administration to reinstate millions of dollars in grants in those states and the District of Columbia and ordered the administration to restore thousands of volunteer service workers the administration had sent home. Her ruling applied only to the Democratic-led states who sued in April to challenge what they said was an unlawful dismantling of AmeriCorps by Republican President Donald Trump's administration. More: What is AmeriCorps? What to know about the latest organization impacted by DOGE cuts Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat who helped lead the litigation, in a statement said the ruling safeguards services communities rely on to educate students, preserve parks and care for the elderly from "unlawful and reckless cuts." AmeriCorps did not respond to requests for comment. A White House spokesperson in a statement said Trump "has the right to restore accountability to the entire executive branch, and this will not be the final say on the matter." AmeriCorps' grants fund local and national organizations that offer community services related to education, disaster preparedness, conservation and more. It sends more than 200,000 volunteers out nationally as part of its programs. The states sued after the administration terminated over 1,000 grants and placed 85% of AmeriCorps' staff on administrative leave with the intent to terminate them effective June 24 as part of a push by Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency to shrink the federal government. The cuts impacted $396.5 million in federal funding for AmeriCorps programs and tens of thousands of volunteers nationally. The agency has a roughly $1 billion budget and had more than 500 employees when Trump took office. Democratic state attorneys general argued Trump lacks the authority under the U.S. Constitution to gut AmeriCorps, which was created by Congress, and that the agency failed to follow proper procedures before altering program services. Boardman, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, partially agreed, saying AmeriCorps failed to engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking before making major changes. "Because the agency did not provide notice and an opportunity to comment before it made significant changes to service delivery, the States were unable to voice their concerns about these changes," she wrote. But Boardman said the states lacked standing to block the mass job cuts, saying an anticipated delay in their grant applications being reviewed due to reduced staff was not sufficient grounds.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
AmeriCorps must restore grant funding and members to states that sued over cuts, federal judge rules
The Trump administration must restore hundreds of millions of dollars in AmeriCorps grant funding and thousands of service workers in about two dozen states, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman granted a temporary block on the agency's cancellation of grants and early discharge of corps members, but only for the states that sued the administration in April. The federal lawsuit, filed by Democratic state officials across the country, accused President Donald Trump's cost-cutting efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency of reneging on grants funded through the AmeriCorps State and National program, which was budgeted $557 million in congressionally approved funding this year. The 30-year-old agency oversees several programs that dispatch hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of people to serve in communities across the country. Boardman also said all AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members that were discharged from their service terms early should be reinstated, if they are willing and able to return. But Boardman allowed the 30-year-old federal agency for volunteer service to proceed with its reduction in force, denying the states' request to restore the majority of staff that were put on administrative leave in April. AmeriCorps employs more than 500 full-time federal workers and has an operating budget of roughly $1 billion. The lawsuit was filed by officials in Maryland, Delaware, California, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration must restore AmeriCorps programs in 24 states, judge rules
(Reuters) -A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to restore AmeriCorps programs in 24 Democratic-led states but declined to prevent it from cutting the bulk of the workforce of the federal agency for national service and volunteering. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Baltimore issued an injunction at the behest of those states and the District of Columbia who argued Republican President Donald Trump's administration is unlawfully dismantling AmeriCorps.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Supreme court to hear birthright citizenship dispute that could expand Trump's power
The US supreme court will hear arguments on Thursday in a dispute that could significantly expand presidential power despite ostensibly focusing on Donald Trump's contentious executive order ending birthright citizenship. The trio of cases before the court stem from the president's January executive order that would deny US citizenship to babies born on American soil if their parents aren't citizens or permanent residents. The plan is likely to be ultimately struck down, as it directly contradicts the 14th amendment, which grants citizenship to 'all persons born or naturalized in the United States'. But Trump's legal team isn't asking the supreme court to rule on whether his policy is constitutional. Instead, they are challenging whether lower court judges should be able to block presidential orders nationwide – a move that could overall weaken judicial checks on executive power. Three federal judges have blocked the policy nationwide, including US district judge Deborah Boardman, who ruled that 'no court in the country has ever endorsed the president's interpretation.' But the justice department argues these 'nationwide injunctions' unfairly tie the president's hands. 'These injunctions have reached epidemic proportions since the start of the Trump Administration,' the department wrote in a March filing. The administration is asking for the scope of the injunctions to be narrowed, so they only apply to the people, organizations or states that sued. If Trump prevails, his administration could potentially enforce his desired citizenship policy in parts of the country where specific courts haven't blocked it – creating different citizenship rules in different states while legal challenges continue. The supreme court's conservative majority, which includes three Trump appointees, has previously signaled skepticism about nationwide injunctions. Justice Neil Gorsuch called the issue a 'question of great significance' requiring the court's attention. Critics warn that limiting judges' power to block policies nationwide would force people to file thousands of individual lawsuits to protect their rights. 'If you literally have to bring separate cases for every single plaintiff, you are limiting the ability of courts to declare what the law is and protect people,' Colorado attorney general Phil Weiser, who joined legal challenges to Trump's order, told NBC News. By the end of March, Trump had faced at least 17 nationwide injunctions since returning to office in January, according to the Congressional Research Service. His first term saw 86 such rulings – far more than other presidents including Joe Biden, who saw 28; Barack Obama who saw 12; and George W Bush who saw six. Trump has also faced at least 328 lawsuits nationwide as of 1 May, with judges blocking his actions more than 200 times, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion The administration has said that universal injunctions 'have reached epidemic proportions since the start of' Trump's second term, and claims they have prevented the executive branch 'from performing its constitutional functions before any courts fully examine the merits of those actions'. Several Democratic attorneys general urged the court not to restrict judicial power at a time when 'the government is aggressively issuing executive orders of dubious legality'. Three separate lawsuits have been consolidated into one challenge before the court on Thursday, which came via an emergency appeal in the court's so-called 'shadow docket'. The court's ruling is expected by early July.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge blocks three agencies from disclosing troves of sensitive personal data to DOGE
(The Hill) – A federal judge on Monday indefinitely blocked the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) access to troves of sensitive personal data from three federal agencies, the latest roadblock to its efforts to slim down the federal bureaucracy. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman barred the Department of Education (DOE), Department of the Treasury and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from disclosing the personal identifying information of about 2 million plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging DOGE's access to any of the advisory board's affiliates. She noted that the Privacy Act of 1974 was enacted to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of personal information collected by the government, citing Congress's concern at the time that a single bureaucrat or institution could assemble 'every detail of our personal lives' in an instant. 'Those concerns are just as salient today,' the judge wrote in a 68-page opinion. 'No matter how important or urgent the President's DOGE agenda may be, federal agencies must execute it in accordance with the law. That likely did not happen in this case.' Six Americans sued Treasury, DOE and OPM over DOGE's access to personally identifiable information they gave the government while collecting veterans benefits, applying for student loans and working as federal employees. Five union organizations, whose members' personal data is also stored within the systems DOGE accessed, also joined the lawsuit. Altogether, the plaintiffs amount to about 2 million people. They contend that DOGE's actions violate the Privacy Act, which was passed in response to the Watergate scandal and provides safeguards against breaches of privacy. In court filings, they accused the agencies of 'abandoning their duties as guardians and gatekeepers' of the sensitive information of millions of Americans. Though the plaintiffs initially sought a universal injunction against the agencies, which would have blocked DOGE's access to everyone's sensitive personal data at the agencies, the judge's relief was more tailored, focusing only on the challengers. Boardman previously entered a temporary restraining order preventing DOGE from accessing the data from DOE and OPM, but she declined at the time to extend the block to Treasury data. She cited a different federal judge's preliminary injunction effectuating the same relief plaintiffs sought against that agency. The lawsuit is one of more than a dozen pending cases challenging DOGE's structure or access to systems at various federal agencies. Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk is said to be leading its sweeping cost-cutting efforts, but the White House has maintained that Musk is not technically part of DOGE, instead serving as a senior adviser to the president. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
