USDA tries to reverse mistaken firing of bird flu workers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is moving to correct the accidental firing of several people working on the federal government’s response to an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is a low risk of the public contracting the disease, the USDA firings come as bird flu is wreaking havoc on the agriculture sector and as egg prices soar to a record high. In Iowa alone, nearly 6.7 million egg-laying chickens were culled in December to stem the spread of the virus.

The job cuts are part of a wider Trump administration overhaul of the federal government, including attempts to gut national health agencies, halt scientific reports and grants and put a hold on multimillion-dollar programs to combat malaria, Ebola and tuberculosis abroad.

“Although several positions supporting HPAI (bird flu) were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” a statement Tuesday from the USDA said.

In a statement last week ahead of the cuts, the USDA touted its pursuit of “an aggressive plan to optimize its workforce,” and Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said she welcomes “DOGE’s efforts at USDA,” referring to the Elon Musk-led “Department of Government Efficiency.”

The USDA’s move was met with criticism from several Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who wrote on social media, “Understand USDA is now fast tracking to rehire front line employees working on bird flu outbreaks … Nice job Musk! You and your friends will still get your tax breaks, but higher egg prices for everyone else.”

In a matter of weeks, DOGE has upended several government agencies and the lives of thousands of federal workers with sweeping cuts made by a team staffed by many with ties to the billionaire or his companies. Federal workers told the Washington Post that basic functions are slowing at several agencies and could collapse as crucial staff members are pushed out.

A CDC report showing some veterinarians who care for cattle were unknowingly infected with avian influenza last year was published Thursday after being delayed for weeks following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 21 order that federal health agencies pause all external communications, the Post reported.

In an essay in the New England Journal of Medicine, a group of doctors stressed that the omission of information about bird flu “raises concerns about the CDC’s ability to disseminate scientific data and analysis of public health information in a timely manner.”

Last month, health officials reported that a man from Louisiana had become the first person in the United States to die of avian flu, and at least 68 human cases have been reported since 2024, though almost all have been mild.