Durbin Joins All Agriculture Committee Democrats To Press USDA On Indiscriminate Layoffs

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, this week joined U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in leading all Committee Democrats in pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to explain recent mass layoffs at the Department.  The Senators asked how many USDA employees were fired and for a breakdown by state, agency, job position, and veteran status—all details the Administration has not provided to date.
In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, the Senators wrote:“These widespread layoffs jeopardize USDA’s ability to respond to the ongoing avian flu outbreak, process farm loans, disaster relief and other assistance for farmers, and distribute grants and loans for infrastructure and services that rural Americans rely on.”
The Senators continued:“We have deep concerns that the termination of thousands of nonpartisan USDA employees and contracts in less than a month will hinder the Department’s ability to address the challenges facing American agriculture and rural America.”
In addition to Durbin and Klobuchar, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) signed the letter.
Full text of the letter is availablehereand below:
February 25, 2025
Dear Secretary Rollins,
Amid layoffs across the federal government, we write to express grave concerns regarding the recent layoffs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and how they will affect the Department’s ability to serve farmers, ranchers, and rural America.
On February 14, USDA issued a statement outlining the actions USDA has taken to eliminate positions at the Department and has reportedly terminated or put on administrative leave thousands of nonpartisan public servants across the Department, including at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) National Animal Health Laboratory program office, the Forest Service (FS), the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and the Rural Development mission area (RD).
These widespread layoffs jeopardize USDA’s ability to respond to the ongoing avian flu outbreak, process farm loans, disaster relief and other assistance for farmers, and distribute grants and loans forinfrastructure and services that rural Americans rely on.
We request that USDA respond to the following questions:
We have deep concerns that the termination of thousands of nonpartisan USDA employees and contracts in less than a month will hinder the Department’s ability to address the challenges facing American agriculture and rural America. Please provide responses to the information requested in questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 not later than Friday, February 28, and responses to questions 5 and 6 not later than Friday, March 7. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
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