Lawsuit challenges ongoing USDA reorganization

A lawsuit filed by local governments, nonprofit organizations and unions representing USDA employees seeks to halt the department’s reorganization, including planned office closures and forced employee relocations.

The lawsuit (.pdf), filed Sept. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, names USDA and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins as defendants. The plaintiffs also filed a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to stop employee relocations while the case proceeds.

The coalition alleged USDA was moving forward with the restructuring without required congressional approval. Fiscal year 2026 appropriations language requires USDA to notify and receive approval from the House and Senate appropriations committees before using covered funds to relocate offices or employees or reorganize offices, programs or activities.

USDA had previously said it would move most of its Washington, D.C.-area staff — ​about 2,600 workers — to five regional hubs in ​an effort to bring the workforce closer to farmers. The reorganization, announced in July 2025, would also shutter the main facility of the department’s Agricultural Research Service and relocate employees to regional hubs.

The challenged plan would also move U.S. Forest Service headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City and close nine Forest Service regional offices and 23 research locations in 15 states, according to the lawsuit announcement. It would also reduce regional offices administering federal nutrition programs and relocate employees in the Foreign Agricultural Service, Rural Development and Farm Production and Conservation.

The union plaintiffs are the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

“This reorganzation is not merely misguided; we believe it is unlawful,” Randy Erwin, NFFE national president, said.

The lawsuit followed a court order in the coalition’s broader challenge to changes across the federal government directing the USDA claims to proceed as a separate case.

“The administration cannot dismantle USDA when Congress has prohibited it. This latest attempt to harm federal employees and the critical services they deliver is unlawful and should be enjoined,” said Corinne Johnson of law firm Altshuler Berzon, which is representing some of the plaintiffs.