The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) accidentally fired several employees working on the government's avian influenza response over the weekend. The agency is working to rectify the situation and rescind the termination letters. This incident comes as the bird flu has decimated poultry flocks and sent egg prices soaring. Lawmakers have expressed concerns that the layoffs could hamper the government's efforts to combat the outbreak.
The episode comes as the virus has decimated poultry flocks and has sent egg prices soaringThe United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday said that, over the weekend, it accidentally fired"several" agency employees who are working on the federal government's"Although several positions supporting were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson said in a statement.
"USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission." The spokesperson noted that several agency positions were already exempted from the sweeping cuts President Donald Trump's administration is making across the federal government, adding that the Agriculture Department"continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza."Avian influenza or bird flu is a disease that naturally spreads among wild aquatic birds worldwide, as well as domestic poultry and other bird and animal species. The error is the latest in the Trump administration's attempts to rapidly shrink the size of the government by conducting mass firings of federal workers — an effort that is being carried out by tech billionaire Elon Musk and the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, which is heavily staffed by people who have no experience in government. who were fired last week that they are now due to be reinstated — but struggled to find them because they didn’t have their new contact information. confirmed 68 cases among humans in the U.S. so far. On her first day in office, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins convened a panel on bird flu and"reviewed options for a comprehensive strategy to combat it," Several agencies within the Agriculture Department play a role in responding to the outbreak, including the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. On Sunday, that some of the Trump administration's layoffs hit the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, which is involved in avian flu research. The layoffs concerned a number of Republican lawmakers, who privately warned the Trump administration that such cuts could hamper the government’s bird flu response and asked them to reconsider, according to two Republican sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Lawmakers had received little guidance from the administration about the recent program cuts and staff terminations at USDA, which sources said frustrated Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee. The panel, which oversees the USDA, provided a briefing to its members over the weekend to try to help provide some more clarity to lawmakers. “They need to be more cautious,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb, a member of the Agriculture Committee, told NBC News of the DOGE team. “There’s an old saying, ‘measure twice, cut once.’ Well, they are measuring once and having to cut twice. Some of this stuff they’re gonna have to return back. I just wish they’d make a better decision up front.” The layoffs also concerned researchers working on bird flu. Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said hearing that three people were cut at the USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network program would impact efforts to combat the spread of the virus.Egg prices, which were already high, have continued to soar as the bird flu has spread. Several members, who were back in their districts this week, told NBC News they are hearing an earful from constituents over the sky-high price of eggs. Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee have raised their concerns to the chairman, Rep. Glenn"GT" Thompson, R-Pa., and his staff, who have been working to relay those concerns to the USDA and obtain more information about the moves, sources said.“With Secretary Rollins now confirmed, we anticipate further clarity on the status of this review across USDA mission areas,” Thompson said in a statement. Some Republicans have also complained about cuts to a program that works with poultry farmers to reduce the number of birds around airports in an effort to enhance aviation safety. And more broadly, there is over how widespread funding cuts across the government, as well as new restrictions on funding for National Institutes of Health grants, may impact infectious disease researchers and local health officials working to respond to the bird fluIn recent days, the Trump administration has fired probationary employees across the government — a move that could affect hundreds of thousands of people, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management. An agency spokesperson said the administration would not be able to provide full details on how many individuals were fired until Tuesday evening. Probationary status typically applies to someone who has been with the federal government for less than two years — before full civil service protections kick in. But it can also apply to longtime civil service workers who move to a different agency or take a promotion.Science under siege: Trump cuts threaten to undermine decades of research Foreign service worker says pregnant wife faces 'life-threatening' complications amid Trump's USAID shutdown
Avian Influenza Bird Flu USDA Government Layoffs Egg Prices
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