In an effort to entirely overhaul the volunteer organization established during the Clinton administration, the Trump administration placed approximately 75% of the full-time AmeriCorps staff on administrative leave.

According to an insider from the administration who spoke to Fox News Digital, five hundred and thirty-five out of AmeriCorps’ 700 full-time staff members were placed on leave. The Trump administration indicated that this action is part of a broader strategy to reduce the overall size of the federal government.

Volunteers from AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps, which specifically targets volunteer opportunities for individuals aged 18 to 26, were withdrawn from their assignments prior to the Trump administration’s decision to place the agency’s full-time employees on leave on Wednesday. Furthermore, contracts with AmeriCorps amounting to approximately $250 million have been canceled.

The administrative source indicated that AmeriCorps is expected to persist, although operations will resume once more.

The AmeriCorps National Service Program was created by former President Bill Clinton in 1993, during his inaugural year in office, as a federal volunteer initiative aimed at assisting communities nationwide.

As previously revealed by the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, the agency has garnered nearly $1 billion in public funding each year, yet it has not passed eight consecutive audits over the past decade.

“Regrettably, AmeriCorps has a longstanding record of misusing taxpayer funds,” stated Republican Utah Representative Burgess Owens, who chairs the House subcommittee, in a formal statement.

“AmeriCorps is responsible for managing over $1 billion of taxpayer money annually, yet it has failed eight consecutive audits. In 2023, the AmeriCorps Inspector General released a report titled ‘Management Challenges’ that outlined significant issues faced by AmeriCorps, including its inability to identify fraudulent activities. We are uncertain when AmeriCorps will achieve a clean audit again. In fact, this year’s audit presents 78 recommendations that remain unresolved, despite AmeriCorps claiming to have addressed 20 of them last year,” Owens further elaborated in his statement.

Fox News investigated AmeriCorps’ budget from previous years and found that it amounted to $1,312,806 for the fiscal year 2023, which encompassed $99,686,000 allocated for costs and wages, and $1,262,806 for the fiscal year 2024, which included the same figures for expenses and compensation.

For the fiscal year 2025, the Biden administration proposed a budget of $1,342,093,000.

As per the agency’s annual management report for fiscal year 2024, its assets totaled $3.7 billion, which comprised over $1.5 billion in investments.

The organization, which emphasizes volunteerism, has made diversity, equality, and inclusion, along with initiatives addressing climate change, its top priorities. As stated in Fox Digital’s 2024 annual management report, one of its primary objectives is to “promote racial and economic equity.”

“AmeriCorps has maintained a long-standing commitment to promoting racial and economic equity through national service and volunteerism,” the report indicated.

“These initiatives aim to broaden access to opportunities for all Americans. Racial and economic equity will be integral to AmeriCorps’ strategic planning and execution of all priorities, ensuring that AmeriCorps members and volunteers represent the diversity of the American populace and the communities they serve,” the report further noted.

The office should be considered for elimination by the Department of Government Efficiency, Owens remarked, emphasizing that even if some of its initiatives are “well-intentioned,” taxpayers should not be expected to fund it any longer.

“It is illogical to expand this agency or allocate additional funds when it consistently fails to uphold basic accountability standards,” Owens stated.

“Each time its representatives appear before this Committee, AmeriCorps guarantees us that they will enact reforms, yet year after year, no changes occur. We can urge AmeriCorps to modernize and reform until we are exhausted, but nothing will alter unless we acknowledge that the system is founded on a flawed premise. It is time to recognize that this is a failed program that requires a complete overhaul or termination. It should be on DOGE’s list for elimination,” Owens concluded.