Gillibrand, Colleagues Raise Concerns About Food Safety Amid Trump Administration Restructure Of Inspection Agency

Gillibrand, Colleagues Raise Concerns About Food Safety Amid Trump Administration Restructure Of Inspection Agency

Jun 2, 2026

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with 19 of her Senate colleagues, raised concerns about the Trump administration's plan to reorganize the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The administration is forcing 200 FSIS employees - two-thirds of its D.C.-area staff - to relocate to Iowa, Georgia, or Colorado within months, which could cause mass staff departures and disrupt FSIS' ability to rapidly respond to foodborne illness outbreaks and other food safety concerns.

"American families need to have full confidence in the safety of the food they eat," said Senator Gillibrand. "Proper food inspection and safety is essential to keeping foodborne illnesses from spreading and harming consumers. The Trump administration's reckless restructuring of the agency jeopardizes New Yorkers' health and wellbeing, and I am demanding answers about how it plans to keep our food supply safe."

The senators wrote to Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden, "This reorganization poses a risk to FSIS's core mission of protecting public health and ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply."

"Losses in staff and institutional expertise as a result of this relocation could delay the identification and containment of outbreaks involving pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, or Listeria, allowing contaminated products to remain in commerce longer and increasing illnesses nationwide," the senators continued. "Reduced coordination amongst FSIS and other food safety and public health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, and state partners could also slow traceback investigations and public communication during multistate outbreaks, when rapid response is critical to prevent additional illnesses. Instead of moving its employees across the country, FSIS should be focused on maintaining food safety. Overall, this reorganization threatens to undermine FSIS's effectiveness and weakens an agency that American consumers rely on every day."

Along with Klobuchar, the letter was signed by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Senator Gillibrand and her Senate colleagues continue to sound the alarm on the Trump administration's reorganization of USDA. Earlier this month, they pushed back on a similar plan to restructure the Food and Nutrition Service, which could undermine food assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, and the National School Lunch Program. They also raised concerns about the Trump administration's restructure of the Research, Education, and Economics mission area, which could harm farmers by hampering USDA's ability to produce timely and accurate data products.

The full FSIS letter is available here and below.

Dear Deputy Secretary Vaden:

We write with serious concern regarding the announced reorganization of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Rather than strengthening the agency's effectiveness, this reorganization poses a risk to FSIS's core mission of protecting public health and ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply.

FSIS plays a key role in safeguarding American consumers. Not only does FSIS provide critical frontline inspection of meat, poultry, egg, and some fish products, but the agency also plays an important role in informing the public through outreach and education and coordinating with the many international, federal, state, and local agencies that play a part in food safety. When outbreaks inevitably happen, FSIS provides a rapid response to contain illness before it spreads widely.

The Deferred Resignation Program implemented last year has already resulted in a loss of more than 500 FSIS employees, straining a key agency that operates under significant pressure. Now the Administration is asking two-thirds of the FSIS staff in the Washington, D.C. area to relocate to Iowa, Georgia, or Colorado within months, which could weaken interagency coordination and rapid response efforts during foodborne illness outbreaks, creating a greater risk to consumers and our food supply. Since FSIS was not explicitly included in the July 2025 Secretarial Memorandum on USDA's proposed reorganization, FSIS stakeholders, employees, consumer advocates, and industry partners have not been able to provide meaningful comments on changes that could have significant implications for the nation's food safety system.

Losses in staff and institutional expertise as a result of this relocation could delay the identification and containment of outbreaks involving pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, or Listeria, allowing contaminated products to remain in commerce longer and increasing illnesses nationwide. Reduced coordination amongst FSIS and other food safety and public health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, and state partners could also slow traceback investigations and public communication during multistate outbreaks, when rapid response is critical to prevent additional illnesses. Instead of moving its employees across the country, FSIS should be focused on maintaining food safety. Overall, this reorganization threatens to undermine FSIS's effectiveness and weakens an agency that American consumers rely on every day.

We ask that you provide a detailed description of how you will ensure that FSIS will maintain full operational capacity during and after this transition. Specifically, we ask that you provide further details on what communication USDA has had with impacted FSIS employees, how the USDA will mitigate anticipated workforce losses, preserve critical expertise, and ensure that outbreak response, interagency coordination, and rulemaking activities are not compromised.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and we look forward to receiving your response within 30 days.

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