Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) sent a letter to Brooke Rollins, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), demanding critical answers on recent terminations and the Department’s response to bird flu outbreaks. Cortez Masto’s letter comes after last week’s reports that the Trump Administration fired several USDA employees involved in bird flu response efforts. While the USDA has stated that it’s actively working to reverse these ill-advised firings, the Trump Administration has not been transparent about the impacts it poses to ongoing federal response efforts for recent bird flu outbreaks in Nevada and across the country.
“Reports on the firing of employees at USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) could severely impact or delay efforts to detect, track, research, and respond to the spread of bird flu variants,” wrote Cortez Masto.
Cortez Masto asked that the following information about the terminations be made public no later than March 11, 2025:
- The USDA’s strategic vision to combat current and future HPAI outbreaks.
- The specific positions of terminated employees, including their roles and responsibilities as it relates to your strategic vision and coordination with federal, state, and municipal officials.
- The total number of USDA employees who have been terminated by the Trump Administration, including any positions in Nevada, and a status update on those who have successfully been rehired.
- Analysis on how these terminations, rehires, and the ongoing hiring freeze or buy-out offers have impacted bird flu response, coordination with impacted states and municipalities, and efforts to fill key vacant positions – including those in Nevada.
- A detailed assessment of ongoing work to fill open positions, as well as the impacts that these firings and rehirings will have on future recruitment at USDA.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Senator Cortez Masto has pushed multiple Departments under the Trump Administration for detailed, public information regarding the impacts of President Trump’s federal funding freeze, hiring freeze, and terminations on Nevada – including to the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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