USDA will relocate most of its D.C.-based workforce

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

USDA will relocate most of its D.C.-based workforce

The agency will relocate about 2,600 employees to five other locations and shutter several key facilities in the capital region, including its historic main research center.

Updated
July 24, 2025 at 4:45 p.m. EDT today at 4:45 p.m. EDT
8 min


Banners of Presidents Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln hang from the USDA building in Washington. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

By Meryl Kornfield, Olivia George and Hannah Natanson

The Department of Agriculture will relocate a majority of its Washington-based workforce to five other locations and shutter several key facilities in the capital region, including its historic main research center, the agency said Thursday. ... Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told employees in a video message that the move is aimed at reducing costs and moving the agency’s workforce, which is already primarily scattered across the country, “closer to the people we serve.” About 2,600 out of 4,600 employees will be relocated to Salt Lake City; Fort Collins, Colorado; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The agency will also vacate the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, as well as an office building in D.C., and the Alexandria office for the Food and Nutrition Services. The agency is not leaving its main headquarters, which is called the Whitten Building; the Yates Building, where the Forest Service is located; or the National Agricultural Library. ... “In the coming months and where applicable, my team will be notifying your offices with more information on relocation to one of those five regional hubs,” Rollins told the staff.

{snip}

In addition to moving the staff from Washington, the department is also downsizing staffing in other parts of the country. An agency memo said the Agriculture Research Service will close area offices, the Forest Service will phase out nine regional offices over the next year and reduce research stations to one in Colorado, and other subagencies will reduce their spread to five hubs. {snip} The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agriculture Research Center will be “vacated over multiple years to avoid disruption of critical USDA research activities,” according to Thursday’s department announcement. The nearby George Washington Carver Center — named after the pathbreaking Black agricultural scientist and inventor — will be “sold or transferred upon conclusion of its use as a temporary location for USDA personnel.”

{snip}

Employees are now awaiting decisions that could dramatically change their lives. For one couple, news of the impending relocation hit double hard because they both work for the Agriculture Department — and they fear that at least one of them will be moved elsewhere in the country, the husband said. If they are both reassigned, there is no guarantee it will be to the same place. ... Surprisingly, he said, he hasn’t felt upset in the hours since Agriculture announced the reorganization. He hasn’t cried. ... “Maybe because it’s been seven months of one thing after another, and at this point I feel numb,” he said. “And that’s the attitude I am seeing all around the building today. It’s just like, ‘Oh. Well. Another thing.’”

By Meryl Kornfield
Meryl Kornfield is a staff writer on the Politics desk of The Washington Post.follow on Xmerylkornfield

By Olivia George
Olivia George covers the impact of the Trump administration and the larger federal government on the D.C. area. Send her secure tips on Signal @OCGeorge.59.follow on XOliviaCGeorge

By Hannah Natanson
Hannah Natanson is a Washington Post reporter covering Trump's reshaping of the government and its effects. Reach her securely on Signal at 202-580-5477.follow on Xhannah_natanson

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/24/usda-relocate-trump-rollins/

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[SheltieLover]

1. Is pootin happy yet?

[sinkingfeeling]

2. All moving to bright red areas, so experiened, unbiased workers will be replaced by loyalists.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

3. All five of those cities...

...voted for VP Harris.

[GenThePerservering]

4. They can burn that banner of Dear Leader while they're at it

[Pas-de-Calais]

5. THIS is continuation of his 1st term, only worse

1st term agencies were scrambling to find space for those who had to transfer to KC. Plenty of stress for them. NRCS need GIS personnel for exact land measurements.

[Miguelito Loveless]

6. Inflict maximum chaos

so they have no time to do their real job.

Look for a spike in tainted food incidences.

[Deep State Witch]

7. The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

Is HUGE. It stretches from Rt. 1 in Beltsville all the way to about Rt. 50 in Bowie, MD. The offices and library are on Rt. 1 in Beltsville. This is just another hit for Prince Georges County from the Tangerine - first eliminating the planned FBI building, and now this. Plus, we're losing the Commanders stadium and Six Flags in the near future.

Fuuuuuck.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. USDA to vacate Alexandria's Braddock Place, home to food assistance programs

News
USDA to vacate Alexandria’s Braddock Place, home to food assistance programs

By Ryan Belmore
Published July 25, 2025 at 6:15AM

https://www.alxnow.com/files/2025/07/braddock-metro-center-3.webp
Braddock Metro Center (via Cushman & Wakefield)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday it will vacate its facility at 1320 Braddock Place in Alexandria as part of a sweeping reorganization that will relocate thousands of federal employees from the Washington region to five hub cities across the country.

The Alexandria facility houses the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, which administers critical federal nutrition assistance programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. The relocation could affect operations for programs that serve millions of Americans, though officials emphasized essential services will continue uninterrupted.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the department plans to reduce its National Capital Region workforce from approximately 4,600 employees to no more than 2,000, citing cost savings and a desire to move operations closer to the farmers and ranchers the agency serves. ... It remains unclear how many employees work at the Braddock Place facility. ALXnow has reached out to USDA for comment on the number of affected workers and the timeline for the Alexandria relocation.

{snip}

About the Author

Ryan Belmore is the Publisher of ALXnow.com. An award-winning publisher, editor, and journalist, he has led local independent online newsrooms since 2012. Originally from Rhode Island, he and his wife, Jen, moved to Alexandria in 2021. Since then, he has served on the City of Alexandria's Commission for the Arts and Board of Zoning Appeals. Send news, tips, information, and feedback to [e-mail].