By Ryan Hanrahan
Agri-Pulse’s Steve Davies reported that “the Agriculture Department has been ordered to halt its reorganization and relocation efforts by a federal judge who said the department had likely violated a congressional directive prohibiting it from spending money on the plan.”
“The fiscal 2026 agriculture spending bill barred USDA from reprogramming funds to proceed with the reorganization affecting thousands of department employees. It said USDA had to obtain permission from the Senate and House appropriations committees before doing so,” Davies reported. “Both the plaintiffs, who include employee unions, and USDA agreed that the approval provision is unconstitutional, and U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria agreed. However, he said the prohibition on reprogramming remains.”
“The bill’s explanatory statement, agency documents, and President Donald Trump’s budget submission associated with the appropriations statute at issue ‘show that Congress almost certainly did not intend for these funds to be used for office closures or employee relocations at the time it appropriated them,’ Chhabria said in his order,” according to Davies’ reporting.
Government Executive’s Jory Heckman reported that “the stay specifically bars USDA from ‘closing or eliminating offices’ at component agencies impacted by reorganization plans, or ‘relocating or reassigning employees or their positions or functions to different and/or new locations outside the local commuting area, including by issuing or enforcing MDR letters or any other notice or directive of reassignment or relocation in whole or in part.'”
Source : illinois.edu