USDA Scrambles to Rehire Bird Flu Officials Who Were Mistakenly Fired as Part of DOGE Cuts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it is trying to rehire bird flu experts that the agency accidentally fired as part of its efforts to cut costs based on recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. "Although several positions supporting [highly pathogenic avian influenza] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," the USDA said in a statement to CBS News. The agency added that several types of workers, including veterinarians and other emergency response personnel, had been exempted from job cuts so that they could continue to work on the USDA's bird flu efforts. The agency said it "continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)."

As concerns over bird flu rise, the Trump administration is now trying to rehire employees with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who worked on the federal response to the virus, after firing them over the weekend. The terminations were reportedly part of a cost-cutting effort across government agencies by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The layoffs come amid the latest outbreak of H5N1 impacting poultry and cattle farms, leading to rising egg prices and sparking concerns among public health officials.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will rehire the Inspection Service front-line employees it fired over the weekend so they can continue their work on the avian flu outbreak. These employees were fired over the weekend as the bird flu crisis has threatened more farmers and led the price of eggs to increase. As millions of chickens have died of the virus, egg production suffered, increasing the price by 15.2% in January alone. “Although several positions supporting [bird flu strategy] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” a USDA spokesperson said. “USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service front-line 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 United States Department of Agriculture accidentally fired "several" employees who are working on the federal government's response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. The agency has announced that it is trying to reverse the firings. The news comes as USA battles the avian Flu that has led to culling of millions of chickens and egg shortage.

The United States Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday that it accidentally fired several agency employees working on the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak, over the weekend, NBC news reported.