August 4, 2025:
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has opened a 30-day public comment period for stakeholders to provide feedback on the Department’s reorganization plan, as outlined in the Secretary’s memorandum (PDF, 2.6 MB) issued on July 24, 2025.
“As committed, we are continuing to hear stakeholder feedback on the USDA Reorganization. All stakeholders – including Capitol Hill offices, USDA employees, and members of the agricultural community – are encouraged to share their input during the open comment period. We value your perspective as we work to ensure that USDA is best positioned to serve America’s farmers, ranchers, producers, and rural communities,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins.
“President Trump made clear his second term would include relocating the sprawling federal bureaucracy to locations outside the National Capital Region,” Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said in his Capitol Hill testimony on July 30, 2025. “The department’s July 24 memorandum begins to deliver on this promise and does so in a way that right-sizes the USDA footprint, eliminates unnecessary management layers, consolidates redundant or duplicative functions, and, most importantly, allows USDA to deliver on its mission to the American people within the bounds of its available financial resources.”
The reorganization proposal reflects President Trump’s commitment to relocate federal agencies beyond the national capital region, reduce bureaucracy, and strengthen USDA’s presence in key agricultural regions across the country. As part of the plan, USDA will consolidate operations, close the South Building, and relocate approximately 2,600 Washington-based positions to five regional hubs: Raleigh, NC; Kansas City, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Fort Collins, CO; and Salt Lake City, UT.
USDA is conducting the reorganization under its authority established in the Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 U.S.C. app.; 7 U.S.C. 2201 note) and The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-354). The secretarial memorandum delegates authority to the Deputy Secretary and underscores USDA’s focus on efficiency, geographic diversity, and long-term sustainability.
How to Submit Comments
All stakeholders, including USDA employees, members of Congress, and agricultural and nutrition partners, are encouraged to provide feedback by emailing reorganization@usda.gov. The comment period is open through August 26, 2025.
July 31, 2025:
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member on the Senate Ag Committee, spoke during a Committee hearing on the proposed reorganization of the USDA.
The hearing was scheduled on short notice because Klobuchar said, “The administration put together a half-baked plan with no notice and without consulting agricultural leaders.”
During her statement, Klobuchar said she supports efforts to make USDA work better, but didn’t think that getting rid of 15,000 employees by firings or early buyouts was good for agriculture.
“We have a half-baked agenda that will almost certainly result in worse services for farmers and families in rural communities,” Klobuchar said. “We already have 90 percent of USDA employees out in the field, but you guys plan on breaking down the other ten percent and sending them to different hubs.”
She’s also extremely concerned that the reorganization proposal would have a negative impact on USDA’s research.
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