Trump team reportedly lays off some staff working on bird flu response even as disease spreads

As the pervasive H5N1 bird flu continues to spread and impact the nation’s egg prices, the Trump administration has reportedly fired some staff who were working on the nation’s response to the virus.

Among those fired were leadership and administrative staff at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, a source told Reuters. It’s unclear exactly how many working on the bird flu response have lost their jobs.

“The food compliance officers and animal drug reviewers survived, but they have no one at the comms office to put out a safety alert, no admin staff to pay external labs to test products,” one FDA official told CBS News.

“USDA continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Several job categories, including veterinarians, animal health technicians, and other emergency response personnel in USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have been exempted from the recent personnel actions to continue to support the HPAI response and other animal health priorities,” a Department of Agriculture spokesperson told The Independent in an email. “Although several APHIS positions at USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network were recently notified of their terminations, those have since been rescinded.”

The Trump administration had previously scrambled to reinstate workers who were let go in earlier prior cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The American Veterinary Medical Association and The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to The Independent’s requests for comment.

The reported firings come as questions swirl regarding the nation’s response to bird flu and whether it can stop the spread from animals and to humans.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has come under fire after suggesting that a strategy could be to let bird flu spread across farms. His remarks came shortly before H7N9 bird flu was detected for the first time in the U.S. since 2017.

“There are some farmers that are out there that are willing to really try this on a pilot as we build the safe perimeter around them to see if there is a way forward with immunity,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News last month.

In response to Kennedy’s suggestion, physicians have denounced the idea.

“It’s a recipe for disaster,” Dr. Gail Hansen told The New York Times.

Now, Democrats have launched an investigation into Kennedy’s handling of the outbreak, citing his comments pushing to create immunity for birds. Bird flu has sickened 70 people and killed one in Louisiana.

In a letter to Kennedy, Democrats requested information about how the department will address the outbreak and associated costs, including coordination plans with other federal agencies. They requested related information be turned over by April 18. Signees include Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.

“This is one of the dumbest things you could possibly do with your government, laying off the very people you need to combat one of the biggest problems affecting our food supply right now,” the Illinois Democrat told The Washington Post, reacting to news of the layoffs.