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Good afternoon,
The mounting chaos within our federal government continued to pile up over the weekend. Yesterday, the White House came out saying "Elon Musk is technically not part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)," despite the tech billionaire's obvious position atop its reckless efforts to gut government agencies. The contradictory statements about "doge" are extremely problematic, making it unclear to the American people who runs the new agency and who, if anyone, they actually report to. To mark Presidents Day, thousands of people protested in Washington, D.C. and around the country, declaring their dissatisfaction of the actions of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Many called on Congress to take action and hold the executive branch accountable. We're frustrated and perhaps you should be too.
Here are a few important updates ...
MASS FIRINGS HIT USDA
Brooke Rollins got the ball rolling very quickly after being sworn in last Thursday as Agriculture secretary. She is already working to bring Trump's Project 2025 plans to life, including cutting spending, gutting the federal workforce, and rolling back diversity initiatives.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration's mass federal firings have finally reached the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wiping out loan analysts in Farm Service Agency field offices, ag scientists, and about 1,200 staff of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. While the total number of firings is unknown at this time, more than 200,000 federal employees across the country are on probationary status.
Experts say these sweeping cuts and changes to the USDA workforce will have major consequences for farmers, including making it difficult to get USDA loans. Additionally, Successful Farming reported that "many of the impacted staff work in county offices, often serving as farmers' first points of contact when applying for a federal program." It's only a matter of time before farmers and those working in agriculture start to feel the burden of these firings and the USDA loses its footing as a critical government agency.
SO MUCH FOR SECURING RURAL SCHOOLS
The House and Senate recently reintroduced the Secure Rural Schools Act, which was not reauthorized in December. The legislation "provides about $250 million a year for schools and infrastructure in more than 700 rural counties with wide swaths of federal land." As a result of the measure failing to be renewed, budgets of rural communities have been strained, many that strongly supported President Trump and Republicans in the 2024 election. The reauthorization failed to pass due to new rules around funding legislation, implemented by House Republican leadership.
According to federal data, 20.3% of America's public school students attended rural schools in 2022. As reported in Education Weekly, "for the last several decades, rural districts in many parts of the country have had to make significant cuts, merge operations with each other, and even shut down entirely." The December failure begs the question of whether Republicans will fulfill their promises of supporting voters living in rural America.
OCP urges rural Americans to pay close attention to any developments surrounding the Secure Rural Schools Act and make your voices heard. President Trump and congressional Republicans must not walk back on the promises they made when campaigning. They talked the talk in the campaign; now it's time to walk the walk in Congress.
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Each week, this newsletter highlights what's going on in rural states, counties, and communities, and what One Country Project is up to around the country. If you value this content, please consider donating to One Country Project. Your contribution supports our efforts to connect with rural voters and to promote greater opportunities for rural communities.
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EGG-O-NOMICS WEEKLY
Last week, the average price for class A large eggs was $8.14, a 32.57-percent* increase since the week of January 17th.
*Based on USDA weekly average pricing for class A large eggs.
NUMBER OF THE WEEK
58 (and counting) - The number of confirmed cases of measles in West Texas. The outbreak has now spread to 5 counties. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world but is easily preventable by vaccination. None of the 58 confirmed cases were vaccinated. This outbreak comes just after the Republican-controlled Senate, on a party-line vote, confirmed vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. One of Kennedy's first steps was to fire over half of the CDC's aptly named disease detectives who are the nation's first line of defense to identify and combat disease outbreaks.
- The Senate confirmation votes for Howard Lutnick for Secretary of Commerce will happen this week, with the vote happening as soon as this evening.
- The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Hearing for the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be Secretary of Labor will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, February 19th.
WHAT WE'RE READING
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