Feb 18, 2025 - Politics & Policy

USDA fires, then moves to rehire staff working on bird flu response

Sareen Habeshian

Casim Abbas, a mathematics professor at Michigan State University, feeds chickens at his small egg farm at his home in Williamston, Michigan, on February 8, 2023. — Chickens in Williamston, Michigan. Photo: Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that it's working to reverse the firing of agency personnel tasked with the federal response to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The big picture: The bird flu crisis in the U.S. is in a troubling new phase as the outbreak intensifies and the Trump administration maintains a pause on some external federal health agency communications.

Driving the news: "Several job categories, including veterinarians, animal health technicians, and other emergency response personnel have been exempted from the recent personnel actions to continue to support the HPAI response and other animal health priorities," the USDA said in an emailed statement Tuesday evening.

"Although several positions supporting HPAI were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," the agency continued in the statement first shared with NBC News.
The USDA sad it'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 agency did not immediately respond to a question on how many personnel were impacted.

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USDA fires, then moves to rehire staff working on bird flu response

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