‘They need to be more cautious’: USDA scrambles to rehire officials working on bird flu outbreak after DOGE terminated them

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scrambling to rehire officials terminated in the DOGE purge who were working on the government’s response to the outbreak of H5N1 avian flu, also known as bird flu.

The situation parallels another incident that arose as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency began instigating mass layoffs across the federal government. Musk allegedly “accidentally” fired hundreds of staffers working for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Only after notifying over 300 NNSA employees of their terminations did the administration realize they needed these workers to manage the nation’s nuclear weapons. Trump administration officials scrambled to rehire all terminated workers, though it was difficult to contact them all, as some had changed their information. The situation was made even more difficult because HR wasn’t involved in the terminations.

Thousands of other federal workers were also laid off by DOGE, including numerous probationary employees. Many are concerned that these hirings were carried out without regard for necessity or performance, especially since mistakes keep surfacing. Shortly after the NNSA backtracked on its terminations, the USDA also revealed it had accidentally fired vital employees.

USDA scrambles to rehire terminated officials working on bird flu outbreak

On February 18, the USDA released a statement confirming it had “accidentally” fired several employees working on the nation’s bird flu outbreak over the weekend. It revealed the terminations were a mistake and that it was working on reversing them. A USDA spokesperson stated, “Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters. 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 government has been carefully monitoring the bird flu outbreak that began in 2022. The disease has been widespread among poultry and dairy cows and has been transmitted to humans in rare cases. Currently, the risk bird flu poses to the public is low, but the pandemic potential does exist. Hence, it’s vital that agencies within the USDA, such as the Agricultural Research Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, continue their efforts to combat the spread of the virus. Yet, multiple employees working on this cause were accidentally terminated. Even though the terminations were reversed, it’s unclear how long it will take to rehire everyone or if every employee will agree to return. Meanwhile, when it comes to managing a flu outbreak or the country’s nuclear weapons, tampering with these positions comes with many risks.

The incident further confirms that those working for DOGE don’t have an understanding of the agencies they’re tampering with, which isn’t surprising considering most employees are 18 – 26 with no government experience. Instead of researching or seeking advice from seasoned employees, these DOGE staffers are going in mindlessly with federal workforce cuts and seemingly hoping for the best. Even Republicans are getting nervous about the cuts, with Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) telling NBC News, “They need to be more cautious. 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.”

As the USDA and NNSA scramble to rehire vital employees who DOGE recklessly fired, one can’t help but wonder how many other necessary employees were laid off in the purge and if these mistakes will be rectified before these absences are felt.