The United States Department of Agriculture accidentally fired officials responsible for the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak, and is rushing to re-hire them, NBC news reported.
“Although several positions supporting [avian flu] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” a USDA spokesperson told NBC.
“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 added.
This is the latest embarrassing setback for the Trump administration and the Elon Musk led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that is leading the charge to rapidly shrink the size of the government by conducting mass firings of federal workers in an effort to reduce federal spending.
Last week, the Trump administration similarly reversed their decision to fire National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) officials after learning they are responsible for designing, building and overseeing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
“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 going to have to return back. I just wish they’d make a better decision up front.”
