The Clintons’ legacy is crumbling. And Trump is only accelerating it.
And now Bill Clinton is fuming mad after what Donald Trump just did to him.
Drastic Reset for a Troubled Agency
In a bold move to address decades of mismanagement, the Trump administration on Wednesday placed approximately 75% of AmeriCorps’ full-time staff—535 out of 700 employees—on administrative leave, signaling a top-to-bottom restructuring of the Clinton-era volunteer agency.
The decision, confirmed by an administration official to Fox News Digital on Thursday, marks a critical step toward rebuilding an organization long criticized for squandering taxpayer funds. With a history of failing eight consecutive audits over the past decade, AmeriCorps faces intense scrutiny as the administration aims to restore accountability.
The overhaul extends beyond personnel. Volunteers in the National Civilian Community Corps, a youth-focused program for 18- to 26-year-olds, were pulled from the field in anticipation of the staff shakeup.
Additionally, roughly $250 million in AmeriCorps contracts have been terminated. While the agency is expected to persist, its operations will essentially restart from the ground up, reflecting the administration’s determination to eliminate waste and refocus the agency’s mission.
A Legacy of Waste and Failed Audits
Created by former President Bill Clinton in 1993, AmeriCorps was envisioned as a volunteer-driven force to uplift communities nationwide. Yet, its track record tells a different story. The agency, which consumes around $1 billion in taxpayer funds annually, has been plagued by financial mismanagement.
Fox News Digital’s review of recent budgets revealed a 2023 fiscal year budget of $1,312,806, including $99,686,000 for expenses and salaries, and a 2024 budget of $1,262,806 with the same expense figure. The Biden administration had proposed inflating the 2025 budget to $1,342,093,000, despite the agency’s persistent failures.
Rep. Burgess Owens, the Republican chair of the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, has been a vocal critic of AmeriCorps’ inefficiencies. “Unfortunately, AmeriCorps has a long history of abusing taxpayer dollars,” Owens declared in a December 2024 statement.
“AmeriCorps is entrusted with over $1 billion of taxpayer funds every year, with the result of failure of eight consecutive audits,” he added, citing a 2023 Inspector General report that flagged significant issues, including the agency’s inability to detect fraud. “This year’s audit includes 78 recommendations still open, even after AmeriCorps said it addressed 20 last year,” Owens noted, emphasizing the agency’s resistance to meaningful reform.
Misplaced Priorities Under Fire
Beyond financial woes, AmeriCorps has drawn criticism for prioritizing ideological initiatives over its core mission. The agency’s 2024 annual management report, which disclosed $3.7 billion in assets including $1.5 billion in investments, listed “advancing racial and economic equity” as a top goal.
“AmeriCorps has a decades-long commitment to advancing racial and economic equity through national service and volunteering,” the report stated. “These efforts are designed to expand pathways to opportunity for all Americans. Racial and economic equity will be central to AmeriCorps’ planning and implementation of all priorities, ensuring AmeriCorps members and volunteers reflect the diversity of the American people and the communities in which they serve.” The report also highlighted climate change initiatives, further diverting resources from community service.
Owens has argued that such priorities, coupled with the agency’s inability to manage funds responsibly, justify a complete overhaul. “It makes no sense to expand this agency or give it more money when it continuously fails to meet basic accountability standards,” he said in 2024.
“Every time its representatives come before this Committee, AmeriCorps assures us that they will implement reforms, and year after year nothing changes.” He called for the agency to be targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), branding it a “failed program” in need of either a drastic reboot or outright elimination.
A Push for Accountability and Reform
The Trump administration’s actions reflect a commitment to rooting out inefficiencies in federal programs. AmeriCorps’ repeated failure to pass audits, coupled with its focus on politically charged initiatives, has eroded public trust.
Owens emphasized the need for systemic change, stating, “We can tell AmeriCorps to modernize and reform until we are blue in the face, but nothing will change unless we recognize the system is built on a flawed idea.” The administration’s decision to sideline most of the agency’s staff and cancel millions in contracts sends a clear message: business as usual will no longer suffice.
As AmeriCorps faces an uncertain future, the administration’s overhaul aims to realign the agency with its original purpose of fostering community service, free from bureaucratic bloat and ideological agendas. For taxpayers weary of funding an underperforming agency, the reset offers hope for a leaner, more accountable AmeriCorps—if it can rise to the challenge.
