"Judge says Congress must decide whether to extend a pause on reorganization and relocations"
"Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it was closing its largest research campus and radically reorganizing research at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The moves were controversial because they involved long-distance job transfers that threatened to uproot many scientists and derail research programs. This week, a federal judge declared the plans were likely illegal and ordered a halt until at least 11 December, when the current federal budget runs out.
Despite the decision, researchers remain wary of the Trump administration’s intentions. One who works at the campus slated for closure, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), and who asked to remain anonymous because he did not have permission to speak publicly, commented, “If you have an administration that does not believe in execution of the mission of an agency, you’re never out of the woods.” A USDA spokesperson told Science the agency is reviewing the decision and will submit a response to the court.
USDA announced in July 2025 that it planned to close BARC, its largest and most diverse research facility. The 2800-hectare campus runs a major bee research lab, the National Fungus Collections, decadeslong soil experiments, and other projects. USDA cited old infrastructure and a maintenance backlog as a main reason to shut down the Maryland site, near Washington, D.C. The move is also part of a larger plan to move USDA headquarters employees out of the Washington, D.C., area. At a congressional hearing, lawmakers said they had concerns, and the subsequent federal budget, passed in November 2025, prohibited USDA from spending any money on the reorganization without permission from Congress."
