Who Could Have Predicted It?
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).
It’s a trap. Careful Steven, a hoocoodanode series about the this administration could turn into a full time job.
If you are interested in the Texas screwworm, Texas Tribune has been covering the story all month.
https://www.texastribune.org/series/texas-screwworm/
BTW, first words out of Secretary Brooke Rollins was that uncontrolled Biden immigration policies was the cause of the infestation.
There were a couple of articles on this topic last year going over the history of screwworm and predicting the cuts would have this effect.
Steve
@Scott: Brooke Rollins is the dimmest of bulbs. And that’s really saying something in this White House.
Just search for “brooke rollins $3 meal” for laughs.
@Kingdaddy:
As empty as her initial claim was, I saw an interview with Rollins wherein she pointed out she is a mother of four, as well.
Just like the $3 claim, the subsequent attempt at damage control lacked key context.
She did that thing wherein a 1%er claims to be just like the average American, ya know, because she is a mother of 4.
What she left out:
Her husband is President of two energy firms. (Lucrative work, if you can get it)
She has spent her entire career working at right wing think tanks developing policies that screw the average American over and learning how to gaslight the public about it. (Lucrative work, if you can get it)
Well, and, taking jobs in the public sector to help implement those policies.
Net worth? $15 million (99th percentile).
According to Gemini summary of a pay walled Forbes article: Value of primary domicile? $2.7 million. Value of vacation home? $800,000.
Something tells me she does not have a clue about the per pound cost of chicken.
None of this acknowledges that GOP messaging contains layers of tension between their claims about prosperity, competition/choice, freedom, free markets and the cost of living.
I am curious about these simulations. She referenced them, but I can’t seem to find any details.