Kentucky, States Win Challenge To Restore AmeriCorps Grant Funding

Win restores remaining Fiscal Year 2025 funds nationwide; Kentucky set to receive more than $9 million in congressionally approved funding

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 29, 2025) –  Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that he, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, 22 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia successfully secured all of the AmeriCorps funding the Trump administration tried to halt in dismantling the nation’s public service agency. The win will restore the rest of the more than $9 million in funds appropriated by Congress to support Kentucky’s AmeriCorps service commission, Serve Kentucky, which focuses on housing development, the fight against hunger, family support, education, disaster relief and more.

“AmeriCorps and Serve Kentucky make our people, communities and country stronger by providing food, housing support, education, mental health services and more, and it was illegal and short-sighted for the President’s administration to try and dismantle this independent federal agency,” said Gov. Beshear. “Today is a good day for our commonwealth and country, as we once again see that the law – and what’s right for the American people – can rise above any challenge.”

Gov. Beshear joined in filing the multistate lawsuit in April of this year and in June secured an injunction to stop the federal government from terminating the nearly $400 million worth of AmeriCorps programs. On Thursday, the Trump administration agreed to release all remaining AmeriCorps money to states rather than fight the multistate team’s lawsuit. This will provide the remaining $208,487 due to Serve Kentucky.

Others represented in the AmeriCorps lawsuit include Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

This is the latest victory in cases Gov. Beshear has joined to protect federal dollars due to Kentucky, including the restoration of $96 million in education funding.  The release of education funding followed a challenge by the Governor and 23 other states and the District of Columbia that claimed the freeze violated federal statutory and regulatory requirements. A week after the coalition sued, the U.S. Department of Education began releasing the promised funds and had released all of Kentucky’s funds by the following week.

“These funds aren’t about Democrat or Republican – they were appropriated by Congress for the education of Kentuckians, and I’m proud we were able to get them back,” said Gov. Beshear.

In February, the Governor joined a lawsuit with 23 other states to successfully stop the federal Office of Management and Budget from freezing federal funds that Kentucky was awarded and that Congress had appropriated. In April, the Governor and 23 other states sued to protect $11 billion of public health funding that the federal government had terminated despite Congress having appropriated the money – including $148 million obligated to Kentucky. Along with fighting to protect Kentucky dollars in court, Gov. Beshear and his administration have sent letters to federal government agencies to remind them of their obligations to provide federal funds awarded to Kentucky.