Washington Roundup – July 2025
By: Lowell Randel
USDA Releases Reorganization Plan
On July 24th, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released Secretary Memorandum: SM 1078-015 which outlines the Department of Agriculture’s Reorganization Plan. Secretary Rollins had indicated such a plan was being developed earlier in the year. While NIFA and ERS were relocated during the first Trump administration, it is expected that the changes will impact all of USDA’s research agencies.
The plan outlines four pillars for implementing the reorganization:
Principle 1: Ensure the Size of USDA's Workforce Aligns with Financial Resources and Priorities - USDA will continue to utilize voluntary programs such as the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIPs). The Department will also use directed and voluntary reassignments to ensure the workforce is aligned with mission priorities. Focused and limited Reductions in Force will be implemented only if needed and only after approval by USDA's Deputy Secretary.
Principle 2: Bring USDA Closer to Its Customers by Relocating Resources Outside of the National Capital Region – The reorganization calls for the establishment of five hubs that will house USDA programs and personnel. The announced locations are Raleigh, North Carolina, Kansas City, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, Fort Collins, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Given that NIFA and Economic Research Service headquarters were relocated to Kansas City during the first Trump administration, this hub will likely house the majority of USDA research agency staff.
Principle 3: Eliminating Management Layers and Bureaucracy – USDA plans to reduce or eliminate stand-alone regional offices and other similar management layers and focus co-location at the five hub locations. The Agriculture Research Service (ARS) will eliminate its Area Offices with functions transferred to the Office of National Programs. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will consolidate its 12 existing regions into five USDA Hubs over a multi-year period. In the national capital region, multiple USDA facilities will be vacated as a part of the process. This includes the USDA South Building and the ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.
Principle 4: Consolidate Support Functions – The plan states that department and agency support functions will be consolidated to reduce duplication and provide consistency across USDA. Mission area and agency resources will be realigned to the consolidated functions.
The reorganization plan is expected to take several years for completion, and it is too early to tell the overall impact to USDA’s research agencies. However, the past experience with relocating NIFA and ERS during the first Trump administration indicates that there could be further loss of agency employees who decide not to relocate.
FY 2026 Agriculture Appropriations Bills Advance Through House and Senate Committees
In June and July, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees successfully advanced their respective versions of the FY 2026 Agricultural Appropriations Bill through the committee process. Both chambers have given clear indications that they are not supportive of deep cuts to USDA’s research agencies as proposed in the President’s Budget Request. In both the House and Senate versions, funding for capacity programs (Hatch, Smith-Lever, etc..) and the AFRI program would be funded at FY 2025 levels. ARS salaries and expenses would receive a $5 million increase in the House and a $38 million increase in the Senate.
Funding levels for selected USDA research accounts are provided in the table below that compares FY 2025 final appropriations, FY 2026 President’s Budget, FY 2026 House and FY 2026 Senate.
Selected USDA Research Accounts
Additional information on the House and Senate versions can be found in the links below:
House
Senate
