The Trump administration has reversed its determination to shutter eight California outposts of the U.S. Division of Agriculture, in response to a letter from company head Brooke Rollins.
The about-face got here on the urging of a gaggle of Democratic California lawmakers led by Sen. Adam Schiff, who decried plans from the the unofficial Division of Authorities Effectivity to shut USDA workplaces in Bakerserfield, Blythe, Los Angeles, Madera, Mt. Shasta, Oxnard, Salinas, Woodland and Yreka.
“Closure of these offices would severely hamper USDA’s ability to support farmers imperative to California’s agricultural success,” the lawmakers wrote in a Might 14 letter addressed to Rollins and Stephen Ehikian, appearing administrator of the U.S. Common Providers Administration.
The unique closure plans got here amid sweeping layoffs and lease terminations at authorities businesses throughout the nation led by Elon Musk’s DOGE crew — together with almost two dozen California workplaces associated to science, agriculture and the atmosphere. Musk has since stepped down.
The Trump administration stated the terminations would supply appreciable price financial savings for the American individuals.
The USDA workplaces slated for closure included outposts of the Farm Providers Company, the Pure Useful resource Conservation Service, the Agricultural Advertising Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, which had a mixed annual lease price of $809,000, in response to the DOGE database.
Of their letter, the lawmakers stated farmers depend on USDA discipline workplaces for loans, grants, technical help, and in-person conferences with USDA employees, and that “closing these vital centers will make it more difficult for farmers to access the essential resources farmers must be able to rely on.”
They famous California is the nation’s largest agricultural state, and that its farms obtained almost $59.4 billion in money receipts for his or her output in 2023 alone.
The closures would put extra burdens on farmers “already navigating an uncertain agricultural economy” resulting from funding freezes, tariffs and different challenges, in response to the lawmakers, who additionally included Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), Jim Costa (D-Fresno), Adam Grey (D-Merced), Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley Village), Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Anglees) and Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose).
In her Might 30 response, Rollins stated she has directed the GSA to rescind the termination notices for eight of the 9 workplaces, save for the one in Mt. Shasta. In keeping with the DOGE database, that workplace was a 536-square-foot outpost of the U.S. Forest Service with an annual lease price of $12,000.
“USDA is still in discussions with GSA concerning the viability of continuing that lease or if the services provided out of that office can be performed in a more suitable location,” Rollins wrote.
She added that the company “supports optimizing building capacity and consolidating underutilized offices to reduce inefficiencies, while continuing to prioritize frontline services for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.”
Schiff cheered the choice.
“I would like to thank Secretary Rollins for engaging with us to ensure that Californians have access to these crucial services,” he stated in an announcement. “I will keep pushing the administration to ensure that critical USDA offices in California continue to operate without interruption.”
