I will confess, while the flu thing is something that probably all of us predicted, at least mentally. But a screwworm infestation? I will admit, I never predicted that. But what a lot of people did predict was that firing a bunch of federal employees without any kind of strategic plan would hamper federal response to future problems.
And here we are.
Via The Hill: Screwworm spread tests US readiness after Trump staffing cuts.
The U.S. spent decades driving the New World screwworm far into South America. But now the parasite has reemerged, and officials are working to beat it back yet again using many of the same tried-and-true methods as the government did in the 1950s.
[…]
“These developments obviously represent a serious threat to our livestock and wildlife, but they haven’t caught us off guard. We have been tracking this pest for a long time, and we have fought before, and we will do so again,” Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a recent press conference.
Rear Adm. Michael Schmoyer, the leader of the Agriculture Department’s New World Screwworm Directorate, said the agency has had time to deploy thousands of traps to capture flies across the U.S. and into Mexico.
“Models suggested that it was going to be here last summer, so we had plenty of time to prepare. So, consequently, we actually have a playbook on how to do this,” Schmoyer told reporters this week.
Rollins said the administration has invested over $1 billion to combat the screwworm.
But…
However, the Agriculture Department is operating with significantly reduced staff due to Trump administration cuts.
Between January 2025 and January 2026, USDA lost approximately 20,000 employees due to layoffs or financial incentives to leave, according to staffing data published by the Office of Personnel Management.
The Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) lost more than 2,000 employees between the start of 2025 and the start of 2026, according to a new analysis — a 25 percent reduction.
In fairness, the USDA has been planning to address this infestation since last year, and money and resources have been deployed. A major barrier is that there is only one source for the sterile flies they need to help stop the attack.
Still, it is difficult to see the chaotic reduction in staff and not be concerned about the federal government’s ability to address policy needs such as this. This also underscores that there are ongoing, and not fully predictable, problems that emerge that need federal resources. Just cutting staff and hoping you won’t need them is simply foolish. It’s like cancelling your insurance because, well, you aren’t using it today.
The US lucked out last year with a calm hurricane season, at least in terms of the US mainland. But history dictates that FEMA will be tested soon, and I fear that DOGE’s handiwork will rear its ugly head there as well (and in areas that none of us have thought of yet).
