OMAHA, Neb. — The Agriculture Department is scrambling to rehire several workers who were involved in the government’s response to the ongoing bird flu outbreak that devastated egg and poultry farms over the past three years.
The workers were among the thousands of federal employees eliminated on the recommendations of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency that is working to carry out Republican President Donald Trump’s promise to streamline and reshape the federal government.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon said the administration should be more careful in how it carries out the cuts.
“While President Trump is fulfilling his promise to shed light on waste, fraud, and abuse in government, DOGE needs to measure twice and cut once. Downsizing decisions must be narrowly tailored to preserve critical missions,” said Bacon, who represents a swing district in Nebraska.
The bird flu prompted the slaughter of roughly 160 million birds to help control the virus since the outbreak began in 2022. Most of the birds killed were egg-laying chickens, driving egg prices up to a record high of $4.95 per dozen on average.
The federal government has spent nearly $2 billion on the response, including nearly $1.2 billion in payments to farmers to compensate them for their lost birds.