Lawsuit seeks to stop USDA, USFS reorganization
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) Federal employees and affected organizations are suing to stop the Trump administration from reorganizing and downsizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including the U.S. Forest Service.
On Tuesday, four unions representing federal employees, along with various cities, counties and nonprofit organizations nationwide, filed a second lawsuit against the Trump administration, this time focusing on the USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, saying her reorganization of the USDA would affect the jobs and lives of thousand of federal employees and result in a loss of important services for Americans.
The plaintiffs are also asking the court a second time for an injunction to stop employee relocations as the USDA is preparing to close or move facilities as part of the reorganization.
“This reorganization is not merely misguided; we believe it is unlawful,” said Randy Erwin, National Federation of Federal Employees president, in a release. “The consequences will extend far beyond Washington: forcing experienced USDA employees to choose between uprooting their families and losing their jobs will drive out expertise, devastate USDA and its agencies, and disrupt critical services that support farmers and rural communities, feed families, advance agricultural research, and protect our forests and public lands. Congress said no to this reorganization for a reason. The administration must follow the law.”
Rollins announced the reorganization plan in July 2025 but did not immediately implement it. Instead, USDA sought congressional authorization through the appropriations process. But in December, Congress rejected President Trump’s budget proposal that reflected a reorganized and downsized USDA. Politico reported that Congress also inserted a few lines in its budget authorization forbidding USDA from using appropriated funds to close or consolidate research facilities without approval from the House and Senate Appropriations committees. In January, Congress added similar prohibitions to appropriations for the Forest Service.
Other union plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union. Nonprofits include the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and Western Watersheds Project.
Last year, the plaintiffs filed a broader lawsuit to block the reorganization of several administration departments. California U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted an injunction in May 2025 to stop the administration from laying off thousands employees, which was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2025.
In July this year, the plaintiffs tried to add more claims and plaintiffs to their case specific to the USDA, but Illston said it made the broader case too complicated. She said the plaintiffs could use those claims to challenge the USDA reorganization specifically in a different lawsuit. That is what was filed Tuesday.
Citing the Constitutional division of government powers, the case opposes the Trump administration’s plan to close or severely cut capacity at offices and facilities across the USDA without gaining Congressional authorization. The plan would gut the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the nation’s premier agricultural research facility in Maryland. It moves the Forest Service headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah, closes all Forest Service regional offices, and shuts 23 research locations across 15 states. The plan would also close five of seven regional offices of the Food and Nutrition Administration, undermining nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
Last week, the U.S. Forest Service said shutting the 23 research facilities would save $16 million - a sum that is a pittance compared to other government costs - adding that the agency can close them using currently available resources, meaning it won’t ask Congress for any money.
“The Trump administration’s meddling in the structure and function of the U.S. Forest Service, and closure of Regional Offices and research facilities, will impair the management of our National Forests and National Grasslands, and undermine the legal safeguards that protect public lands and wildlife,” said Erik Molvar, Western Watersheds Project executive director. “This effort to eliminate land management professionals and reshuffle entire agencies without congressional authorization presents a clear violation of the separation of powers that is at the heart of American democracy.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the Trump administration knew that forced relocation would drive out experienced employees but didn’t analyze what losing that expertise would do to the department’s ability to meet its statutory obligations.
In a statement, a USDA spokesperson claimed Illston didn’t take issue with the reorganization plan, although her ruling didn’t address it.
"USDA continues to work lawfully and thoughtfully to deliver on the president's mandate for better accountability to the American taxpayer. Moving USDA employees closer to the customers they serve is a part of that accountability,” the spokesperson said.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.