AG Brown co-leads coalition opposing attempt to gut U.S. Department of Agriculture

Attorney General Nick Brown co-led a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief Wednesday in support of a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s thinly veiled attempt to drive large numbers of employees to resign by forcing them to move across the country. USDA's "reorganization" would not benefit the agency or the states. Instead, it would harm Washington and other states who partner with USDA on essential programs to prevent wildfires, protect food safety and security, and administer food assistance to our most vulnerable residents.

In the brief, the coalition urges the Northern District of California to halt the USDA's reorganization plan to protect states from this imminent harm.

"Washington has worked extensively with the National Forest Service this year to help deal with the wildfires that have devastated parts of our state," said Attorney General Nick Brown. "Under the administration's plan, the Forest Service and other important parts of USDA would be hollowed out, making Washington more vulnerable to future fires."

Washington and local governments across the state depend upon the Forest Service for wildfire prevention, wildfire response, land-management partnerships, and scientific expertise. As Forest Service personnel are pushed out, the agency will have reduced capacity and lose specialized expertise, exposing Washington state lands and communities to unnecessary harm at a time when the state is experiencing devastating wildfires.

The Washington Department of Social and Health Services also relies on USDA Food and Nutrition Administration personnel for program administration, guidance, funding, oversight, and coordination. The reorganization threatens Washington's ability to efficiently administer programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan.

Similarly, Washington and other states rely on USDA research agencies for scientific information concerning agriculture, food production, conservation, pests, plant health, animal health, and food safety. The USDA plans to close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), which has been the home of the Agricultural Research Service and is widely regarded as one of the most advanced and influential agricultural research centers in the world. Shuttering this lab would harm not just agriculture, but public health. Scientists at BARC are currently studying cyclospora, a foodborne parasite that can cause severe illness, while the United States is in the midst of the worst cyclospora outbreak on record. Every scientist on at least one ongoing cyclospora project at BARC has declined to move across the country and will instead be forced to resign from USDA, leaving the future of this research uncertain.

The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to dramatically slash protections and programs that states and people rely on, including food safety, environmental protection, natural disaster funding, and funding for victims of crime. In the case of USDA, Trump political appointees are hoping to cut as much as 46% of USDA's workforce. One way they are attempting to force people out is through this reorganization, which forces employees to choose between moving across the country and in many cases taking a significant pay cut, or quitting their jobs.

Brown co-led this brief with the attorneys general of California and Maryland. The brief was also joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

Read the brief.

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