The judge’s ruling only applied to democratically-led states that they sued in April to challenge what they said.
A fired USAID employee praised him for leaving the DC office last time
Protesters outside the USAID office in Washington, DC, fell 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 Americanorps grant-funded programs in 24 democratically-led states, but refused to cut down much of the federal agency’s workforce.
Baltimore US District Judge Deborah Boardman issued an injunction requiring the administration to revive grants for these states and the District of Columbia, ordering the administration to restore thousands of volunteer service workers sent home.
Her ruling only applied to democratically-led states that she called in April to challenge what they said was an illegal dismantling of America by Republican President Donald Trump.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat who led the lawsuit, said in a statement that the Controlled Protection Services community is relying on students, preserving parks and caring for seniors from “illegal and reckless reductions.”
Americaorps did not respond to requests for comment.
A White House spokesman said in a statement that Trump “has the right to restore accountability across the administrative sector, but this is not a final say on the issue.”
Americorps’ Grants funds local and national organizations that provide community services related to education, disaster preparedness, and conservation. As part of the program, we will be sending out more than 200,000 volunteers nationwide.
The lawsuit was filed after the administration ended more than 1,000 grants and deployed 85% of Americanorps staff on administrative leave with the aim of terminating them on June 24 as part of the government’s promotion of government efficiency to reduce the federal government.
The cuts had a $396.5 million impact on the Americancorps program and federal funding for tens of thousands of volunteers nationwide. The agency had a budget of about $1 billion and had more than 500 employees when Trump took office.
The Democratic Attorney General argued that Trump lacked authority under the US Constitution over Gut Americaorps, created by Congress, and that the agency failed to follow the proper procedures before changing program services.
The board, the appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, said Americaorps was not engaged in creating notification and comment rules before making any major changes.
“The state was unable to raise concerns about these changes as the agency did not provide the opportunity to notify and comment before making any major changes to its service delivery,” she wrote.
However, the board said the state lacked a position to stop massive employment cuts, and that the expected delay in grant applications reviewed by staff cuts is not sufficiently grounded.
