*Editor’s note: We have updated this story to include a letter sent April 25 from Democratic House members criticizing Rollins’ staffing decisions.
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?”
On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins — who had little agricultural experience before being tapped to lead the department — said “frontline” USDA workers would be spared from staffing cuts, according to Successful Farming.
Rollins made the comments at a roundtable in Fargo, North Dakota, with farm groups. The groups told her the cuts to USDA staffing would make it more difficult for farmers to secure needed loans.
In response, Rollins said employees at the Farm Service Agency, which administers direct loans to farmers, would not be on the chopping block. “If you are FSA or frontline or with the farmers, you are not eligible to take early retirement,” she said.
*On Friday, Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Rollins criticizing the staff cuts at several agencies at the USDA. The “brain drain” risks having “far reaching consequences,” they wrote.
“Farm country is already facing an economic crisis, with net farm income at a historic low,” the letter reads. “People across the country rely on the services USDA provides to feed their loved ones and help their family farms survive during tough times. A robust workforce is critical for USDA to achieve its mission.”
Rosario Lebron said the port inspection service, even by Trump and DOGE’s standards, is a strange target to cut. Much of its funding comes through user fees paid by the importers.
“As far as the taxpayers are concerned, this is the most efficient group there is in the entire government,” he said, adding they keep out thousands of pests every year.
Fewer staff monitoring and inspecting for invasive pests and diseases could result in more outbreaks, he said.
For example, in Florida, the citrus industry has been hit hard by hurricanes and slumping demand, but a major problem has been an insect that kills orange trees. Over the past 20 years, production in the state’s orange groves has decreased by 92%, according to CBS News.
“That is the absolute worst case scenario for something,” Rosario Lebron said, “and it’s already happened, and that was when we were strained. But there are hundreds of different things out there that get prevented constantly.”
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