A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to shut down the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC).
Democratic lawmakers are calling it a win for Prince George’s County, which has faced thousands of federal job losses since President Trump took office.
Union workers at BARC are happy that the place where they’ve worked for decades will not be shut down, thanks to a ruling by a federal judge in California..
“We are an epicenter for so much research that provides safety and security for our food sources, our basic thing,” said Teddi Mitchell, a biological technician who has worked there for 37 years and is vice president of the union. “And that means that a lot of this important research will continue. It also means a lot of federal employees and the community will have jobs remain in the area.”
The judge blocked the Trump administration’s plans to reorganize the Agriculture Department and transfer workers away from BARC, saving jobs, research and economic losses to Prince George’s County.
“I’m just speechless,” said Claudette Joyner, a realty specialist who has worked there for 40 years and serves as union president. “And you know, this has been a long journey to, you know, for our employees, for our scientists, for everyone here. We just don’t look at bargaining unit – this is a family here.
Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy said in a statement, “The court’s decision saves an estimated 1,000 jobs that are supported by BARC. BARC’s permanent closure would have caused a roughly $450 million reduction to the gross domestic product of the State of Maryland.”
But the win could be short-lived. The judge’s ruling was based, in part, on federal funding statutes that are set to expire in less than two months.
Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey is among the lawmakers who fought the closure plan and said he’ll push to get the statutes extended.
“Don’t just move it just to move it,” Ivey said. “If you got strong rationale for doing it, explain that. But the fact that they haven’t been able to put that forward for at least six to nine months now, I think, means that they don’t have that. They were just trying to move it, apparently for partisan reasons.”
Before this ruling, many workers were faced with a difficult choice: to move to a new location or lose their jobs. Union leaders told News4 some had already relocated. It’s unclear if they’ll have the opportunity to come back.
“Some have left not only families but friends and community, and all of that to follow the research and to continue because we weren’t given a lot of time, so it was 30 days to decide and 60 days to be on site,” Mitchell said.
They say they’ll continue to fight for jobs and the research that helps to keep food safe.
News4 reached out to the USDA to see if the administration plans to appeal the ruling. A spokesperson said in an email that the USDA is reviewing the judge’s decision and will file its response with the court.
