USDA To Spend $1B Cut From Schools On Bird Flu

Politico reports:

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ $1 billion plan for fighting bird flu will rely on money cut from programs meant to help schools and food banks support local farmers, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Rollins in February rolled out a five-step strategy to fight bird flu that includes importing eggs and researching and developing a poultry vaccine. But that raised questions about whether it would use new federal money, even as the Trump administration is generally cutting back.

Instead, it will use the money previously intended for two food programs that USDA canceled earlier this year, according to the people, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Read the full article.

Q: USDA cancels $1 billion in local food purchasing for schools and food banks. How do you justify that?

Trump’s Agriculture Secretary: That program was not essential pic.twitter.com/J9cqYoLRWU

— FactPost (@factpostnews) March 11, 2025

USDA’s $1B bird flu plan uses money intended for schools, food banks https://t.co/Z1LKiD9RbI

— POLITICO (@politico) April 12, 2025