Today, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) released the following statement in response to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report titled “Department of Agriculture: Little Transparency on Whether Key Issues Were Analyzed Before Reorganization Decision.” The report is in response to an August 6, 2025, request made by Ranking Member Craig and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
“This GAO report is a flashing red light for hardworking American farmers and the families they feed. USDA is one of our most important federal agencies, a cabinet-level department that supports America’s agricultural leadership and food security,” said Ranking Member Craig. “Overhauling USDA as outlined in Secretary Rollins’ reorganization plan deserves scrutiny and oversight. Secretary Rollins and her underlings have stonewalled oversight and avoided being forthright with Congress and nonpartisan GAO staff. American farmers deserve transparency about what this plan means for program delivery and customer service. I call on Secretary Rollins and USDA to drop their efforts to undermine congressional oversight and be upfront with how reorganization decisions have been made.”
According to the report, “USDA did not respond to [GAO’s] requests for information” on several critical points regarding the department’s reorganization, demonstrating a flagrant disregard for good governance, transparency and accountability.
Since the USDA unilaterally initiated its reorganization, which has since been stayed by the courts, it has shed around 20 percent of its workforce, leaving many regional and local offices un- or understaffed.
