Three months in, it’s become abundantly clear that it’s not just federal Washington-based programs and overseas aid that are feeling the wrath of Elon Musk and DOGE. The cuts are hitting home in the reddest parts of the country, and Republican elected officials are starting to push back.
Abrupt cuts at AmeriCorps this week have landed hard in deep red states with high poverty rates like West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama, where national service programs have long-filled gaps in education, disaster response and job training.
On Friday, AmeriCorps, at the behest of DOGE, unexpectedly terminated nearly $400 million in grants, more than 40 percent of the agency’s grant funds. The move affects more than 1,000 grantees and sidelines more than 32,000 AmeriCorps members nationwide.
Commissions in all 50 states were notified of terminations. In some states, including Alabama and Wyoming, the entire grant portfolio was axed.
They are grants to build homes, respond to disasters and support veterans — the type of work that tends to win bipartisan support.
“All those services are so well used in Louisiana,” said Billy Nungesser, the Republican Lt. Gov of Louisiana, where 13 AmeriCorps programs were cut, hitting 330 volunteers, including around three dozen veterans placed in universities and community college campuses to help other veterans transition back to civilian life.