California Attorney General Rob Bonta on September 10, 2026, announced a settlement with the Trump Administration that protects AmeriCorps funding and programs for fiscal year 2026-2027. The agreement requires the administration to obligate all congressionally allocated AmeriCorps funds for the fiscal year by September 30, 2026.
Bonta co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania in the multistate lawsuit resolved by the settlement. The case challenged the administration’s attempts to reduce AmeriCorps operations, including an April 2025 move to eliminate nearly 90% of the agency’s workforce, cancel contracts and close $400 million in AmeriCorps-supported programs.
Under the agreement, the administration stipulates that AmeriCorps has no intention of conducting mass layoffs or terminating programs during fiscal year 2026-2027. If it intends to undertake mass terminations of AmeriCorps staff or volunteer programs, it must provide the coalition with at least 30 days’ notice, allowing the states and governors an opportunity to challenge the proposed action.
The settlement pauses the litigation through February 1, 2027. The coalition will then voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice if AmeriCorps has fulfilled its commitments. If the coalition determines that the agency has not complied, it may ask the court to lift the stay and resume the litigation. The coalition also retains the right to challenge other allegedly unlawful AmeriCorps conduct through an amended complaint or a separate action.
Earlier proceedings produced two rounds of relief. In June 2025, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction requiring the administration to reinstate programs that had been unlawfully canceled, restoring nearly $400 million in terminated AmeriCorps programs. In August 2025, after another coalition motion for a preliminary injunction, the federal Office of Management and Budget agreed to release more than $184 million in previously withheld AmeriCorps funding for service programs in California and elsewhere.
AmeriCorps is an independent federal agency that supports community-based service addressing educational, public safety and environmental needs. In the California Attorney General’s announcement, Bonta said the settlement gives volunteers and the communities they serve certainty that programs will continue without disruption during the upcoming service year. The coalition includes California and 22 other attorneys general, along with the two governors. [California Attorney General’s Office](https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-secures-settlement-protect-americorps)