After forcing the departure of several hundred U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists and inspectors who prevent invasive pest and disease outbreaks, the Trump administration is trying to reverse course and bring some of them back, according to a Wednesday email that Investigate Midwest reviewed.
Like other federal agencies, the USDA has tried to drastically reduce its workforce through mass terminations, which judges have reversed, and two rounds of deferred resignation offers that allowed employees to collect pay and benefits for months after stepping down. A top Trump official has said the administration’s goal was to cause federal workers “trauma,” and one USDA employee told Investigate Midwest workers were made to feel like “utter sh*t” every day.
The Wednesday email urged employees who were forced out “to reconsider,” as they do “vital, mission critical” work.
But few employees will likely accept the offer, said Armando Rosario Lebron, the eastern region vice president of the National Association of Agriculture Employees, a union that represents employees who inspect agriculture goods entering the country.
“They’re frustrated about their working conditions,” he said. “You’ve just created a perfect fertile ground for people to leave.”
He said the union has heard from many entomologists, botanists and quarantine staff that they received the email.
The USDA did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. (Investigate Midwest has received no responses to several requests for information from the USDA since the Trump administration took over.)
For months, the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s quasi-governmental DOGE have alleged the federal workforce is lazy and the government is riddled with waste and fraud.
However, in the email, the administration acknowledged some federal workers perform important functions.
The quarantine division, known as PPQ, is part of the USDA’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, which helps prevent and control plant and animal diseases, such as bird flu. The email said other parts of the inspection service could be downsized, but PPQ’s functions would continue.
Even if employees already accepted the second round of deferred resignations, known as “DRP 2.0,” they could now stay, the email said. They have until May 1, the day their administrative leaves begin, to decide.
“This is a pattern,” said one longtime USDA employee, who requested anonymity over fears of retaliation. “Fire or force out people now, learn what their job is later. It’s so aggravating.”
A similar situation happened earlier this year. After firing employees working on containing the bird flu that caused egg prices to skyrocket, the USDA scrambled to hire them back, according to NBC News.
Many employees who inspect for pests at ports of entry already work stressful jobs, said Rosario Lebron, who accepted DRP 2.0 and is taking a position overseas. Many put in well more than 40 hours a week because of limited resources and the pressure to move cargo.
He said the work culture at ports is already hectic and frantic, with employees stretched thin and under constant pressure. That strain is only made worse by the looming threat of job cuts.
“What’s happening then,” he said, “to that employee when you throw in this sword of Damocles that can come in and end their job at any moment?”
