The two U.S. Department of Agriculture office located in Bakersfield and Madera will stay open after being at-risk of closing down due to cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency.
The reversal comes after a letter from California Senator Adam Schiff and California Representatives – including Rep. Jim Costa (D–Fresno) and Rep. Adam Gray (D–Merced) – to the Trump administration.
The backstory: The Department of Government Efficiency previously announced plans to close nine USDA offices in California, which included the Farm Service Agency office in Bakersfield.
- The other USDA offices slated to close included the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forest Service and Agricultural Marketing Service.
- Lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration Stephen Ehikian last month urging them to reverse the plans, arguing that the office closures would place an additional burden on farmers and would have downstream impacts on rural communities.
The big picture: Rollins sent a letter to Schiff saying the GSA has rescinded the closure of eight of the offices.
- The U.S. Forest Service office in Mt. Shasta is the only one still slated for closure, but Rollins said the USDA is in discussions with the GSA about the future of the office. The 536-square-foot office had an annual lease cost of $12,000.
What he’s saying: “California is the nation’s largest agricultural state, and these USDA offices are vital for farmers and rural communities to access essential services they rely on,” Schiff said. “I would like to thank Secretary Rollins for engaging with us to ensure that Californians have access to these crucial services. I will keep pushing the administration to ensure that critical USDA offices in California continue to operate without interruption.”
