'Utter incompetence': Federal agency rehires crucial workers after 'accidentally' firing them — again
The latest workers to come in the crosshairs as the Trump administration moves to cut the federal government through mass firings and funding freezes are workers at the Department of Agriculture. NBC News reported Tuesday that the agency fired “several” employees over the weekend and is now trying to rehire them.
The fired employees have been working on the H5N1 avian flu outbreak, or bird flu.
"Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson told NBC News in a statement.
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“They need to be more cautious,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who is part of the Agriculture Committee, told NBC News of the Department of Government Accountability, which is the group carrying out the firings. “There’s an old saying, ‘Measure twice, cut once.’ Well, they are measuring once and having to cut twice. Some of this stuff they’re going to have to return back. I just wish they’d make a better decision up front.”
“You don’t accidentally fire someone,” CNN commentator and former South Carolina Rep. Bakari Sellers posted on X. “You don’t accidentally fire [people] working on bird flu or [people] who oversee our nuclear arsenal. What you are seeing is incompetence, utter incompetence. This isn’t DEI or wokeness, this is stupidity for the sake of being l stupid. Now please make your excuses below…”
Last week, the Trump administration fired people working at the National Nuclear Security Administration, sparking national security concerns. They quickly reversed the firings.
“Understand USDA is now fast tracking to rehire front line employees working on bird flu outbreaks. They were ‘accidentally’ fired by the administration. Translation: Nice job [Elon] Musk! You and your friends will still get your tax breaks, but higher egg prices for everyone else,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) posted on Bluesky.
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Musk has been working with Trump on the cuts, although his official role is unclear.
“Egg prices are SKYROCKETING because the government can't contain bird flu. Then Musk and Trump FIRED the top bird flu experts -- because they had no idea what vital work they did. Now they're scrambling to undo their massive mistake,” lawyer Tristan Snell posted on X.
The USDA said over the weekend that egg prices have reached record highs’; a dozen eggs now costs $7.44. And according to the USDA, 23 million birds have been affected by bird flu.
“If bird flu escalates into a pandemic, with this kind of leadership, we are going to be toast,” scientist Dr. Lucky Tran posted on Bluesky.
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