01/23/2025
Since the onslaught of Presidential Actions that were announced on Tuesday, there has been wide-spread sharing of information - unfortunately not all of it has been true. As a resource for those who are connected to animal agriculture, I wanted to take my time to understand these actions and be able to share factual information about those that may pertain to animal ag.
The following is what I now know:
1. While not a Presidential Action, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a memo to the heads of all of their operating divisions "directing them to refrain from most external communications, such as issuing documents, guidance or notices, until such documents can be approved by a presidential appointee." Significant divisions of HHS include the CDC, FDA, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This is a temporary provision, meant to last until February 1st, to allow the new administration to get up to speed on what these agencies are doing. I do not anticipate that important information regarding HPAI or any other topic of urgent public interest will be withheld from the public.
2. The hiring process for the federal government is being overhauled. Within the next 120 days, a "Federal Hiring Plan" will be sent to the heads of agencies. The requirements for this new plan are somewhat vague, and we won't really know more until the plan is issued.
Additionally, there is a now a Federal hiring freeze. This particular federal order "does not apply to military personnel of the armed forces or to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety." Within 90 days, a plan will be submitted to "reduce the size of the Federal Government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition." This hiring freeze will remain in effect until the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Government Efficiency determine that "it is in the national interest to lift the freeze."
3. This is a good time to mention that the "United States Digital Service" has been renamed the "United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Service" (USDS). This service is tasked with "modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
4. All international trade policies are under review. There will likely be changes made, but absolutely nothing here is certain at this time. All changes will be based on the results of the reviews.
5. The U.S. is withdrawing from the World Health Organization. While this will not have an immediate effect on U.S. citizens, other than U.S. government employees working with the WHO, it will have a very significant effect on the countries that rely on the WHO to provide their public health and safety needs. An excellent summary of potential consequences can be found here:
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/the-us-withdrawal-from-the-who
6. New rule proposals that are intended for publication in the Federal Register are paused. No new rules may be proposed, and any rule that has been proposed but has not yet been published is now put on hold. This is so that all new rules can be reviewed by the new administration prior to publishing to determine if they align with the new administration's agenda.
7. The Return to In-Person Work action simply states the following: "Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary." What this will realistically look like, especially for those employees whose position is 100% remote, has yet to be determined.
Hopefully this helps summarize what you have been hearing about. Leave any questions you might still have below and I will do my best to properly research and then provide an answer!
