Details On USDA Layoffs Scarce

By Gordon HopkinsThe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is one of many federal agencies that has been targeted by President Donald Trump’s administration for layoffs to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.” However, a lack of information about how many have been laid off and the potential impact on those served by the USDA has left people concerned. On February 14 of this year, newly minted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins addressed more than 400 USDA staffers, stakeholders and others in Washington D.C. to discuss making the USDA more efficient.Rollins said, “I welcome DOGE’s efforts at USDA because we know that its work makes us better, stronger, faster, and more efficient. I will expect full access and transparency to DOGE in the days and weeks to come,” DOGE is the Department of Government Efficiency.Exact numbers are hard to come by but some news outlets have reported as much as a third of USDA staff has been terminated or placed on leave. FJN has been unable to confirm that number. However, the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) ordered an unspecified number of those staff to be temporarily reinstated just days after they were fired. MSPB is a government agency that describes itself as, “an independent, quasi-judicial agency in the Executive branch that serves as the guardian of Federal merit systems.” Democratic lawmakers recently sent a letter to Secretary Rollins, demanding to know how many USDA employees were fired. The letter also asks for a breakdown of terminated employees by state, agency, job position and veteran status.Those lawmakers, led by Senate Ag Committee ranking member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), wrote, “These widespread layoffs jeopardize USDA’s ability to respond to the ongoing avian flu outbreak, process farm loans, disaster relief and other assistance for farmers, and distribute grants and loans for infrastructure and services that rural Americans rely on.”The letter continues, “We have deep concerns that the termination of thousands of nonpartisan USDA employees and contracts in less than a month will hinder the department’s ability to address the challenges facing American agriculture and rural America.”FJN reached out to the USDA for comment but has not received a response as of press time from USDA media spokespersons. Local USDA workers advised FJN they are not authorized to speak to the press at this time.

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