A federal review is raising new scrutiny over the U.S. Department of Agriculture's agency-wide reorganization and its effects on operations and staffing. The findings come as the Trump administration pursues a broader overhaul of the federal government and after a judge blocks the USDA from moving ahead with the plan in October.
Highlights
- GAO reports the USDA lacks documentation analyzing potential harms from its reorganization, leaving Congress and the public with limited transparency.
- USDA workforce declines 20% from December 2024 to March 2026, dropping from about 91,000 to 73,000 employees due to restructuring.
- An October federal court decision blocks the USDA reorganization plan after unions challenge reduced staffing for county offices affecting loan and conservation support.
GAO findings on reorganization process
As reported by Reuters, citing the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not provide documentation showing it analyzed potential harms tied to its reorganization, and it also does not respond to repeated GAO requests for that analysis.The watchdog says the missing information leaves Congress and the public with little transparency on how the department weighs the reorganization's effects on agency functions and finances. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says in a Sept. 30 letter included in the report that she deliberates for months on how to approach the restructuring and describes the GAO review as "partisan shenanigans."
Workforce decline and operational concerns
The report says the USDA workforce decreases 20% from December 2024 through March 2026, falling from about 91,000 employees to about 73,000. The restructuring effort aims to move about half of the USDA's Washington, DC-area employees to hubs around the country.Farmers express concern that the reorganization leads to lower staffing at county USDA offices, where they receive support for loan and conservation programs. The GAO report is requested by Democratic Representative Angie Craig and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, and a federal judge in October rules for worker unions seeking to stop the plan, blocking the agency from proceeding.
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